What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be
by thegymrat
Summary: The climatic end to the final duel of light and dark! The might of these two forces push against each other in order to decide a winner. If dark succeeds then all life ceases to exist. Pray for your very soul that light succeeds. Epilogue time.
1. Prologue

What Was, What Is, and What Shall Be  
  
Long ago, before the dawn of creation, there were only ideas. The thoughts and feelings that flow through every living being stem from these ideas. These ideas in many ways could be thought up as creatures, for though they were only concepts they were raw and unparalleled in power. As has long been said, 'The Pen is Mightier then the Sword'.   
  
As creation dawned there came something new, powerful beings who were no longer raw ideas, but possessed combinations of these concepts. They would become the gods. For the most part these newborn gods kept to themselves, avoiding their forebears, the ancient ones who have existed since before time even became a concept, in fact one of those many ancient ones is the concept of time. There were many concepts such as joy and love that the gods cherished, and welcomed amongst their kind, as they themselves helped to shape the future of creation.   
  
However not all of the concepts were positive ones. The gods soon came in contact with the concept of destruction, a vicious concept whose mere presence caused terrible harm to the process of creation, and in this first meeting thousands of gods perished. The Concept of Destruction had never before been anything but a concept, but when creation began it gained a purpose as well and surpassed its former limits. It was no longer a mere concept, it was the raw force of destruction.   
  
The ancient Egyptians speak of a legend about the first battle that their gods ever participated in, but in truth it was the final battle in a war against the tidal wind of destruction that had fallen upon the gods. Destruction reigned and in that final battle it was three of the gods, who would one day become Egyptian gods, who found the answer. Giving up their own massive energies they succeeded in trapping the force of destruction in a prison of its own power. The gods fled to all corners of the universe, each of them determined to never have to face their terrible foe again. So the task fell upon the Egyptian gods to watch over their foe's prison, and to make sure that it never escaped.   
  
*********************  
  
  
  
Vacation was fast approaching the city of Domino, but the nights were still quite cold. It was one of these cold nights that found Drake Ihachi leaving Kaiba Land. Sighing in relief that his long night was over he slipped his black leather jacket on and stepped out into the night. Nestled in a pocket of the jacket was his dueling deck, which was his major source of income.   
  
It couldn't have been more then four or five months previous that he had been complaining to Mokuba Kaiba, younger of the famous Kaiba brothers, about the fact that his reserved dueling platform had been taken during his allotted time. The longed hair boy had been unflinching when he said that Drake's lost time was unimportant and that he'd be rescheduled for another time. Someone far more important then he was had the rights to using it during his allotted time. That important someone turned out to be Seto Kaiba himself, CEO of Kaiba corp. and World Champion of Duel Monsters.   
  
Drake had gone the easy route, he decided to take his available time and use it. Ignoring Mokuba he had burst into the dueling area and watched Kaiba handily defeat a computer simulated opponent. He had been testing new strategies. With the duel over Drake proceeded to challenge Kaiba to a duel, duel with his all, and lose spectacularly. In that order.   
  
To Drake's surprise Kaiba announced that he had been impressed by Drake's skill and hired him on the spot. Making him a payed duelist for Kaiba Land. He'd officially be dueling anyone who payed to duel a professional and teaching anyone who payed for that service.   
  
So Drake had been working there for nearly five months, and had improved considerably since then. He had also been undefeated by all paying challengers, and all challengers at Domino High School. Except for one person who he had challenged. Yugi Motou, the King of Games. Drake had pulled out all the stops in his duel against the Game King, and though he managed to bring Yugi close to defeat, the young dueling prodigy had managed to snatch victory out of Drake's grasp with almost uncanny luck.   
  
  
  
When Drake asked how Yugi had beaten him so easily the boy told him it was the 'Heart of the Cards' and explained the whole thing. Drake had taken that in mind and incorporated it into his dueling and quickly found his skill improving. The strange philosophy worked shockingly well. He grinned widely at the memory.  
  
Drake opened his eyes, staring out across Domino City. His violet eyes, uncommon for a Japanese youth, shone with a restrained fervor that he hadn't felt since his brief stint at Duelist Kingdom, about six months previous. He had gained six of the ten needed star chips before he was beaten by a gorgeous, and extremely talented, duelist by the name of Mai Valentine. It wasn't until after their duel that he found out she had already had ten star chips, and was merely dueling him for the hell of it. But his loss to her hadn't been all bad, he had learned an excellent lesson from that defeat, and it made him better because of it.   
  
Brushing a hand through his russet-brown hair, hair that h could never quite control, he walked through the streets of Domino City heading home with that spark that every true duelist has growing inside of him. The whispers had gone through Kaiba Land like a plague, word spread incredibly quickly. Seto Kaiba was making plans for a tournament to be held in Domino City itself, and everyone was saying the tournament would be even bigger than Duelist Kingdom had been.   
  
Still grinning he held up the small golden disc that hung from a cord around his neck, it was less then half an inch thick and seemed a simple enough design. All that set apart from other solid gold discs, since you found plenty of those, was the Eye of Ra, set in the center of the disc. And an ancient power that had yet to make itself known to Drake, even though he had held the item, that the shopkeeper had called the Millennium Disc, for nearly a year. In fact it was shortly after he began dueling...  
  
***************  
  
Ryu Shigeru felt the cold, but unlike the rest of the city he didn't feel any cold on the outside, he felt all his cold on the inside. He had been cold inside for a very long time, so long that the coldness felt completely natural to him. The feeling had been with him since that terrible night, so many years ago.   
  
Suddenly he fell to the ground in pain, "No, not again."  
  
Ryu looked around the abandoned warehouse, all around him were dead bodies. Every single one of them had a limb or two shot or cut off in some way. A floor tile opened up and a sobbing little boy came out and walked over to one of the corpses.  
  
The young boy remembered this particular body as his gang leader, the one who took him in as a son. He started bawling again, twice he had to experience the loss of a guardian, and twice his world fell apart. He was only ten; he'd be alone again, out on the streets to fend for himself.  
  
The young Ryu wandered around the room picking up money from the pockets of the dead; friends and rivals alike. When he was finished he wandered out of the building, "You'd think three hundred dead guys could come up with more cash than this."  
  
Ryu's vision returned, "Fifth time I''ve seen that, must be something I missed."  
  
In every single one of his flashbacks there was supposed to be a clue to his parents'' deaths. He started getting them a little after he got his Millennium Item which had the power to see into the holder's past and point out things. He slammed it into the wall but it didn't break, "Not even a scratch……"  
  
As much as he wanted to find out who killed his parents, he didn't want to have to relive those moments. He checked his watch, it was seven thirty, he'd been knocked out for about two and a half hours, "Damn, now I gotta stay up late to do all this homework……"  
  
He headed towards his apartment, alone, as he had been for the past seven years of his life. Ryu's gaze fell upon the gauntlet that covered his right fist, his eyes tried to bore holes through the solid gold, and through that hideous gold eye that stared up at him. Millennium Gauntlet, that's what it was called, and fat lot of good it did him. All it did for him was give him visions of his past, usually things that were important for one reason or another. That and the fact that it seemed impenetrable.   
  
So impenetrable in fact, that he couldn't remove it. In a rage he swung his fist and slammed it into the brick wall next to him at full force once more. He didn't feel a thing through the gauntlet, but a tiny set of cracks spider webbed across the brick the gauntlet had struck. One of the few useful things about the gauntlet was that it had somehow gained a little slot for his dueling deck.   
  
Ryu wasn't exactly sure how the slot had gotten there. He had gone to sleep one night and woke up the next morning to find the slot was there. He didn't even duel that much, he had just discovered the fad and used it to take his mind of more serious things. Such as life or death fights, and turf wars that he had to go through. He hadn't been in a gang for a while, but he knew what it was like, and things like dueling were just one of those things a person like him needed to not go crazy seeing the things he saw.  
  
His deck did however contain one thing that was worth quite a lot, and meant a great deal to him. A very special card that he had discovered during a gang fight in an old warehouse. The warehouse belonged to Industrial Illusions, and apparently was used to manufacture Duel Monsters cards, it had been shut down temporarily for renovation. When the fight had ended he found that one of the computers had been accidentally turned on, and in it were files that told him some very special information. He had rushed through old stuff kept in storage and found what he was looking for. He put the cell into the machine and turned it on to produce the card, and before the cops arrived the machine had finished making one of the cards, so he grabbed it and ran.  
  
Ryu grinned widely as he drew the card off the top of his deck. Staring back at him in all its pearly white glory was one of the rarest and most powerful cards in all of Duel Monsters. Only four had ever been made until he cheated. It was his special card, and it was always good to see the look on an opponent's face when he played it. Nobody expected a good for nothing punk like him to have a card as rare and powerful as the Blue Eyes White Dragon.  
  
***************  
  
  
  
Autumn sighed to herself as she walked down the sidewalk. The day had been very awkward. She had been sensing strange, dark presences.  
  
She froze, hearing faint footfalls behind her. Her body tensed. She narrowed her eyes slightly, and started to run down the sidewalk. She heard the footfalls speed up too. She sprinted down the sidewalk, her breathing rapid. She didn't bother screaming. A scream would waste energy, oxygen, and time. No one could help her anyway. She made her Millenium Staff materialize, ready to kill, or at least stun, whoever--- or whatever was after her. She stopped breathing to listen for the footfalls. She no longer heard them. She stopped running. Whatever was chasing her had vanished.  
  
Autumn stood there, temporarily dazed. Her staff dematerialized. She sighed angrily and punched a wall. Then in she rubbed her hand in pain, it had been stupid to lash out like that, but she hated running from problems. She thought it made her weak...  
  
'That's because you are weak. You are too weak, hikari. That's why whatever is chasing you will kill you with ease...' "Leave me alone, Misuno..." she said aloud.  
  
  
  
'I hate to admit it Autumn, but Misuno is right. You know running should not be an option..it will make you vulnerable to attacks. Even with soul obliteration on your side.' Autumn cringed slightly at AB's words. She saw a few people she knew from school and waved absently. She sensed something following her. And it was getting closer every second.   
  
Her grey eyes, flecked with green at the irises, darted about, clearly searching for any sign of what had been chasing her. She sighed and continued her walking, there was a chance that she was running from nothing but her imagination...but if she second guessed her own senses now, she might not have a chance to make any further guesses. For now, all that was left was to flee, her auburn hair whipping about behind her.   
  
***************  
  
It was cold beyond all reason. The cold was not simply of the material, of the flesh, of life. It was something far deeper, something closer to the origins of all things. It was a cold that cut through flesh and bone, and bore straight into the soul like a knife. Needless to say, he began to shiver uncontrollably.   
  
There was nothing unusual about this. Something deep within him spoke of the cold numerous times, spoke of how it was always present at times like this. However, that same voice spoke of the sweltering heat, a blaze of heat that also etched itself into the soul. There were images that accompanied the remembrance of the heat, images of a far-off place where it burned like fire during the day, and chilled you to the bone at night.   
  
Something called out to him through the haze of darkness that surrounded him, kept him shrouded for all time. The darkness that imprisoned him within itself, kept him from seeing the light once more. Yet deep within him he knew that soon the waiting would be over, and he would once more be free to carry out his purpose.   
  
He cried out as a intensely bright ray of light burst through the darkness, ripped at it, tore it into pieces. He fell far, and yet fell no distance at all, as the womb of darkness that had so constantly surrounded him crumbled at the touch of the light.   
  
Millennia, or perhaps mere moments later, he sucked in his first breath in a long time. The air that filled his lungs was just as the voice deep within him had said. The air was hot and dry, and seared him to the soul. It was exactly as he envisioned it, or maybe it was memory. Slowly his eyes opened, blinking back the light that he was so unaccustomed to, and at last he took his first, or maybe not, look at the world around him. The first sight that greeted him was of a person, standing there above him, leaning down to give him a hand.   
  
He looked up at the man...no, the boy, and smiled. The boy's white-haired countenance and the golden object held in his hand seemed a strange comfort in a world that was so strange, and yet all to familiar. As he reached out to take the boy's hand he noticed for the first time that he wore nothing, nothing at all except for the silver dragon biting its own tail that connected the four fingers of his right hand, like some kind of strange ring. His hand stopped short of the boy's, and darkness fell upon him once more.  
  
***********************************  
  
Author's Note and Disclaimer: Disclaimer, which I didn't want to put at the top for this part, is that I don't own Yu-gi-oh, nor do I own Ryu or Autumn and her spirits. I do however own Drake, a friend own's Dalin, and another own's Taichi. Multiple people worked together on the ideas for this story that was originally set up as an RPG, and it is being converted into story form for posterity. I wrote the final version and my two lazy friends, the only ones left from the RPG at the point of this being posted, don't want to set up an account an monitor it, so I am left with the task of putting everything up. Hope you all enjoy.  
  
Next Time: Drake is given an interesting job by his boss, a job that may place him in extreme danger. Meanwhile Ryu finds himself confronted by a specter of his past... 


	2. The Ghouls

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh. Don't worry, I'll get over it.   
  
Chapter One: The Ghouls  
  
Drake stepped into the room of the CEO of Kaiba Corp., a room that contained one of the richest, cruelest, and youngest businessmen in the world. Seto Kaiba. "Sit down."  
  
With two words Kaiba had once again retold just how arrogant he was. You could hear the coldness in his voice, the cruelty he had gained by being the adopted son of a rich business man who wanted an heir. But there was something about Kaiba that seemed to scream that there was more to him then meets the eye.   
  
So of course, since the man was his highest up boss and the guy who hired him, he sat down in the closest chair and payed full attention.   
  
"I've watched how you duel, and I know just how many people request you or come out of duels with you at Kaiba Land extremely impressed by your skill. Since your start at Kaiba Land you haven't lost a single duel, and the duelists you have taught have shown great improvement in short amounts of time. Tell me, how did you become interested in duel monsters and who taught you to duel?"  
  
This was not what Drake had been expecting. Why in the world would Seto Kaiba have interest in him and his dueling? Only Yugi Motou and Maximilian Pegasus had ever beaten him. Kaiba had dueled him and beaten him, that was usually enough for the CEO. But because of his curiosity, and the fact that he could be fired in less time then it takes to say 'you're fired', he answered the questions.  
  
"Well through most of my life I've only been half-good at everything I've tried. But I was bored one day so while at lunch I got interested in what a couple of kids were doing. One of them I knew pretty well, the other I had just seen around school. It turned out to be Duel Monsters they were playing, and one of them let me borrow his deck so I could try my hand at playing."  
  
"The boy you played against at first was Yugi Motou wasn't it?" Drake's eyes widened in shock, but quickly he recovered himself. 'How in the world does he know that?'  
  
He came up with the answer only moments later. 'He's rich, he can find out anything.'  
  
"Yes, it was. He was the one who taught me the basics of it, and because he said I had natural talent, I went on and learned how to play the rest by myself and through playing other people. That's it in a nutshell."  
  
Kaiba glanced at Drake once and then back out the window he had been starring through. "Have you ever heard of the Ghouls?"  
  
"No sir."  
  
"They're a group of duelists who search out and take the rarest of cards. They are Rare Hunters. I want to know more about them, so I have to ask you to do something."  
  
"What would that be?"  
  
"I have a location where some of these Ghouls might be found, once there I want you to find out how you become one of their Rare Hunters. In general I want you to become part of their organization so you can feed me information about them."  
  
"Why me?"  
  
"Because your a good enough duelist that they'll most likely accept you, and because your face isn't well known. Not only that, but I can use you to feed them false information. They'll certainly do a background check on you and find out you work for me, and they'll want to know more about the man holding the three Blue Eyes White Dragons."  
  
It had to be the coolest thing Drake had ever heard of. Infiltrate a secret organization and act as a sort of double agent, feeding his side the right information and feeding the other guys the wrong stuff. And he'd probably still get to duel.   
  
"When do I get started?"  
  
Kaiba just slid a couple of pieces of paper across the table to him and looked back out the window again. "Read through these and you'll know the answers to any questions you might have of me." And he stopped paying attention, leaving Drake to head back to work with a new mission.   
  
"This is so cool."  
  
**************************  
  
Saturday morning. 8 A.M. It was time to go. Drake took a deep breath and scanned his deck one more time before placing it in its container and then into his pocket. Slipping on his leather jacket he headed out the door, it was time to become a Rare Hunter.  
  
It took him about thirty minutes walking to get to the warehouse that Kaiba had specified. It seemed kind of ridiculous that he'd find them here, but that was what Kaiba's informants had told him. And that was where Drake was.  
  
Drake stepped up and knocked on the door three times. "Star light, star bright, why are there no stars out tonight?" Slowly the door creaked open, revealing nothing but shadows. Before Drake could do anything hands shot out and grabbed hold of him pulling him inside. Everything went black.  
  
"How do you know the code?" Drake tried to see who was speaking to him, but the darkness didn't seem to fade at all, leaving him to speculate as to whether his captor was or was not a Rare Hunter.  
  
"I asked around." There were several muffled comments between two or more people, questions asked and answers given. The specifics were to quiet for Drake to overhear, so he simply relaxed and waited for the next questions.   
  
"You work for Seto Kaiba is that correct?" It took Drake mere moments to come up with the response that seemed exactly like him, and yet was completely wrong.   
  
"So what?" There were several more muffled comments, and a light chuckle from somewhere farther back. Either they thought Drake was being funny, or there was something amusing about the situation that he hadn't noticed yet.   
  
"We'll ask the questions here. Why have you come here?"  
  
"Because I'm interested in becoming one of you. I love dueling and I'm willing to do whatever I can to make my deck as strong as possible."  
  
"How much are you willing to do?"   
  
"Whatever I have to. No matter what it might be." Those were the answers Kaiba had given him, and he had memorized them. Now he was realizing just how dangerous those words might be.  
  
"Are you willing to work under our master's total will?"  
  
"If it will make me a stronger duelist and strengthen my deck then absolutely I am." Something was wrong and there was a chance that things could go bad for him...but they stole cards, how dangerous could they possibly be? Its not like they were a terrorist group or something like that.   
  
"Our master will now deliberate your case, and if he chooses to you will be allowed to duel a Rare Hunter of his choice. If you succeed then you will become one of us, if not, then you will pay the price of failure."  
  
'Pay the price of failure? I knew it, there's always an if, no matter what, there's an if. Kaiba didn't mention this, but then again I probably wouldn't have accepted if he had.'   
  
Drake was forced to wait for nearly an hour until finally he was spoken to again. "Your case has been accepted, you will duel one of our number."  
  
  
  
Suddenly lights burst on throughout the room and Drake was forced to blink numerous times to accustom his eyes to the sudden light. And to his shock he found himself standing on a dueling platform, with a man in a brown robe with the Eye of Ra on the hood standing on the other side. 'The Eye of Ra? Then whoever leads them must have some connection to ancient Egypt.' And then he sensed it, a power similar yet at the same time different from the power he always felt from his Millennium Disc...and from the golden pyramid that hung around Yugi's neck.   
  
"Are you prepared to duel?" Drake nodded and took out his deck, shuffled it, and then placed it down in its rightful spot, the Rare Hunter did the same.   
  
"Then Lets Duel!"  
  
Rare Hunter: 2000  
  
Drake: 2000   
  
"The challenger may go first." Drake nodded in acceptance and drew his sixth card. He immediately played a monster in reverse defense mode and announced his move. Then he ended his turn. Time to find out if the Rare Hunter was better then the average duelist.   
  
"I'll summon Armored Lizard(1500/1200) in attack mode. Then I'll play Gift of Mystical Elf to raise my life points. I'll also play one card face down. I'll end my turn without attacking."  
  
Rare Hunter:2300  
  
Drake:2000  
  
'Damnit, he didn't attack and he upped his life points.'  
  
"I'll play Shadow of Eyes to force your monster to attack, and I'll play another monster in reverse defense mode."  
  
The instant it became the Rare Hunter's turn, the lizard lashed out with its fists and pounded against Drake's first face down defense monster, revealing Mystical Elf(800/2000), a blue elfin spell-caster.   
  
Rare Hunter:1700  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
Despite the fact that the next turn he'd also be forced to attack the Rare Hunter seemed utterly calm. He seemed to have no problems taking 500 life points damage. In fact he was smiling. "Your life point damage activates my face down card, Numinous Healer giving me one thousand life points." Drake grimaced as the Rare Hunter's life points rose once more.   
  
Rare Hunter: 2700  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"Now I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to rid the field of your Shadow of Eyes and play one monster in reverse defense mode. I'll also play a Blue Elixir. Finally I switch my Armored Lizard into defense mode."  
  
Rare Hunter: 3200  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
Drake shook his head at the Rare Hunters strategy. He was just using cards that upped his life points so far, but Drake would just keep his strategy going. "I'll add another monster in reverse defense mode and one card face down on the field. That'll end my turn."  
  
"Now that it is my turn I will play another Gift of Mystical Elf. Then I'll use the very same card you used, Shadow of Eyes, to force your face down monster to attack...sadly Mystical Elf is immune being female." Drake watched in confusion as his Dark Magician was revealed and then blasted the defense monster revealing a tiny worm thing.   
  
"What's that thing?"  
  
"That is Mental Parasitic Host, a small worm that when flipped becomes an equip card for the strongest monster on your field at the time it is flipped, and each of your turns I'll gain half of its attack points."  
  
Drake clenched his fist as he watched the parasite attach to his Dark Magician and the Rare Hunter's life points increase thanks to Gift of Mystical Elf's effect. Drake's other monster, Sapphire Dragon(1900/1600) was also switched to attack mode thanks to Shadow of Eyes. 'How am I supposed to beat someone who's life points just keep increasing?'  
  
Rare Hunter: 3500  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
Drake drew his next card and watched helplessly as the Rare Hunter's life points rose even further. Things were starting to get ridiculous.   
  
Rare Hunter: 4750  
  
Drake:2000  
  
"I'll play Heavy Storm to clear the field of magic cards." The Rare Hunter shrugged and placed his Shadow of Eyes into the graveyard...but nothing happened to the parasite attached to Drake's magician.   
  
"I thought it was an equip card now?"  
  
The Rare Hunter just laughed at his comment, this time Drake had said something funny and hadn't even realized it, or maybe the hunter was just an ass. "It acts as one, but it's still a monster. Looks like your plan didn't work."   
  
"Fine, it didn't, but I'll switch Mystical Elf into defense mode, and end my turn."  
  
"So be it. I'll put one card face down and then place Destroyer Golem(1500/1000) in attack mode." Drake drew again and then winced as his opponent's life points rose again.   
  
Rare Hunter: 6000  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"Dark Magician, destroy Destroyer Golem!" Drake exhaled sharply as his magician vaporized the golem doing 1000 points of damage.   
  
Rare Hunter: 5000  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"Your damage activates my face down card, another Numinious Healer who grants me 1000 life points and 500 for my other Numinous Healer in the graveyard."  
  
Rare Hunter: 6500  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
Things were certainly looking grim for Drake, not only had he not managed to truly damage his opponent's life points, but he now had less then a third of the Rare Hunter's points. If things kept up like this the duel might end a draw, and a draw just wasn't good enough.  
  
"One magic card face down, Leghul(300/350) in attack mode to do 300 points of direct damage to your precious life points."   
  
The little worm creature appeared and darted at Drake's side to deal him some direct damage. Drake winced seeing his life points drop. It wasn't a huge amount of damage, but with the difference in their life points it was enough. 'Stop dueling stupid. This price of failure thing has thrown you off your game. Quit worrying and duel smart, don't play his game, play it as yours.'  
  
Drake grinned. He had been playing to this Rare Hunter's game. But the Rare Hunter had made a stupid mistake playing that monster even if it did do 300 points of direct damage. It was incredibly weak and undefended.   
  
He drew and knew his play would work. "You've been so concerned with raising your life points that you never thought about the effect it might have."  
  
Rare Hunter: 7750  
  
Drake: 1700  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
"Allow me to show you. I'll equip Megamorph to my Dark Magician doubling his attack strength as long as my life points are lower than yours. I set a card face down and now...Dark Magician, Dark Magic Attack!" With a single bolt of purple magic the Leghul was destroyed and along with it most of the Rare Hunter's life points.   
  
Rare Hunter: 3050  
  
Drake: 1700  
  
"Once again you play into my hands despite your best efforts. Numinous Healer to give me a total of 2000 life points."   
  
Rare Hunter: 1050  
  
Drake: 1700  
  
"That's impossible! How could my life points decrease?"   
  
Drake showed him the card he had set face down. "The card I played was Side Effect of Shimitochi, which turns life point increases, into decreases." The Rare Hunter snarled, and several others in the background chuckled, this time Drake agreed. It really was funny to see the Rare Hunter's own strategy used to trample him.  
  
"Fine, since my life points are lower now your magician's attack points are cut in half. But I still can't afford to have it around next turn, so I'll play Dark Hole to rid the field of all of your monsters. I end my turn with a defense monster."  
  
Drake shook his head and rolled his eyes. "This is pretty pathetic! Sure you may have removed my monsters, but I've got plenty more where that came from. Even better is the fact that most of your cards increase your life points, and now that works against you."  
  
"Shut up!" Drake obliged the ghoul and drew for what he was certain was the final time.   
  
"I'll play Pot of Greed to draw two more cards...and with those cards comes your defeat." He slapped the first card down, revealing a red glowing rock....a meteor. Then came the second card...and the holographic projectors revealed a tall warrior in black and silver armor, wielding a shiny sword.   
  
"I summon my supreme monster, Omegus(3500/3200)! Then I finish the duel off with Fairy Meteor Crush." He grinned in satisfaction as for the first time his opponent looked afraid. He knew very well what Fairy Meteor Crush did, and obviously knew very well that the monster he had played didn't have 2500 defense points.   
  
"Omegus, use your Omega Slash to finish him off!" The warrior nodded once and swept his blade in a curving arc sending a ripple of mystical energies raging across the field. The Ghoul's defense monster shattered into millions of pieces and his life points dropped to zero.   
  
It was the sudden silence that he noticed first, the utter lack of anything even remotely resembling sound. He had won his way through and was now technically a Rare Hunter. But he had expected them to say something, maybe congratulate him, or berate the other guy for losing. He hadn't expected for them to simply stand there, staring at him.   
  
That was when the door opened and a boy about his age stepped through it. A boy with white hair holding a golden rod with the Eye of Ra at the top. A Millennium item. The first thing that Drake sensed when he entered was power, lots of power. The second thing was that stemming from the man was a hidden presence, a very evil presence. This was the leader of the Ghouls, he was sure of it.  
  
"Drake Ihachi...you have great skill, but skill that still requires honing. I am Malik, and you Drake have proved yourself worthy to be a Rare Hunter, at least dueling skill wise. However to prove your mettle and worth further, you must carry out one task for me. Only then will I allow you to be called a Rare Hunter, only then will you truly be one of us."  
  
"What would that task be...umm...what do I call you?"  
  
Malik chuckled, an evil chuckle if Drake had to call it anything. "You may call me Master Malik. Your task is to recover a card of great importance to the Ghouls. A fifth Blue Eyes held in the hands of one Ryu Shigeru, who goes to your school. Do you know him?"  
  
Drake nodded silently for on the inside he was shocked. A fifth Blue Eyes, one of the rarest cards in the world! For the longest time everyone had believed there were only four...but somehow or other Ryu Shigeru, probably the toughest kid at Domino High, owned a fifth one.   
  
"Find Ryu and take his Blue Eyes using whatever means you deem necessary. After that return with it to this exact location and deliver the card directly into my hands. That is your task."  
  
**********************  
  
Ryu stood in a graveyard, in front of a grave. The grave of the last surviving gang member, Robert. The two of them managed to escape to Japan, away from the gang that killed their friends. A few years later, Robert died when he and Ryu got caught in the middle of a gang fight. The memory was etched into Ryu's mind. Robert was like a brother to him, seeing a bullet driven through his head was something that he'd like to forget.  
  
Ryu sensed a presence a few feet away and turned around to face the intruder who instantly drew a weapon. Ryu just stood there, glaring at the threatening figure, who walked closer and closer. The sword was brought down, in an instant Ryu brought up his arm, the Gauntlets took the hit.  
  
The attacker walked back a few steps as Ryu pulled out a gun. A few shots went off as the attacker deflected each bullet with the sword. Again the attacker advanced towards Ryu, and aimed a slash at his chest. Again the blade met with the Gauntlets. Ryu shot another bullet which met with the attacker's chest. Surprisingly while they seemed hurt, it didn't seem remotely serious. More like a bruise then a bullet wound. Apparently whoever it was, was wearing a bullet-proof vest.  
  
He aimed a shot at the attacker's forehead. The attacker noticed this and rushed forward to deliver another slash at Ryu's chest. It tore his shirt, leaving a line of blood where the sword had connected. The cut wasn't deep and would probably heal in a couple of days. In fact it seemed to light a cut, as if his attacker had deliberately pulled the strike. Ryu shook it off as he shot a few more bullets off which were deflected by the sword again. This time on the other hand, his shots were slow and the angle was easily trackable, easy enough for someone this good to deflect.   
  
The attacker rushed Ryu and forced him to the ground, the point of the sword was aimed at his heart. Ryu instinctively aimed his gun at the attacker's heart, at this close of a range the bullet would still go through. The two just stared at each other for a few seconds, breathing heavily.  
  
The attacker wiped their brow, revealing their identity, "You..."  
  
_________________________________________  
  
Next Time: Drake confronts Ryu and something terrible happens, secrets are revealed and Ryu faces a challenge that he doesn't stand a chance against... 


	3. Into the Shadows

Disclaimer: Still don't own it.   
  
Chapter Two: Into the Shadows  
  
"Stop where you are brother. I cannot allow you to take what does not belong to you. You would be betraying the very thing that our family has long kept honored." The raven-haired woman stood strong, blocking her younger brother's path. She would do whatever was necessary to stop him, but she hopped to avoid his death. She dearly prayed that his death could be prevented.   
  
Her brother's terrible laughter caught her off guard. Her brother had never laughed like that before, not for as long as he had lived...which meant but one thing. This was not her brother. "You think that you can threaten me dear sister? I am in the right in this situation. Long has our family protected the memory of the Pharaoh, long have we struggled to honor that power that long ago faded away. But that memory, the power of the Pharaoh, belongs to me and I will take it using whatever force is necessary."   
  
The woman's eyes widened as her brother extended the golden rod towards her. She could feel the shadow magic flowing through her brother into the rod and from the rod into her brother. "You would use the power of the Millennium Rod on me? Your own sister?"  
  
He sneered and gestured for her to move aside with it. "It would be no harder then killing father was. Though less enjoyable to be sure. Now move aside or you will feel the power my item possesses...the power that I possess!"  
  
"But you know what must be coming! You have seen him just as I have, you have seen those terrible eyes in your dreams, I know that you have! You must see that this is pure foolishness. The Awakening has already taken place and soon the Pharaoh's destiny will begin to unfold. You cannot hinder that, it is our duty to protect and assist the Pharaoh, and most of all to assist the Devourer."   
  
His eyes became suddenly and horribly cold. They showed not the evil they had moments before, but emptiness. "I make my own destiny, the Devourer be damned!" A golden light flared from the Millennium Rod, and everything changed. Isis Ishtar's last thoughts before darkness covered her where of the simple fact that if the Devourer was damned...then all life would be as well, and Malik's chosen destiny might lead to the unraveling of the destiny of all others. Everything would stop...just so her arrogant brother could have more power.  
  
***********************  
  
Autumn yawned and held her Millennium Staff out at arms length to examine it. It was almost as tall as she was and solid gold, though it always felt very light, contrary to gold's nature. She knew a little bit about the other Millennium Items from what the spirits within her staff had told her, and her item was very similar to the Millennium Rod, at least in appearance. Power wise the spirits said hers was weaker, and also less dangerous.   
  
She found this sort of odd because the power to expel a person's soul from their body seemed excessively powerful to her. It frightened her that something might be more powerful than that, but she was certain she'd never encounter the Millennium Rod so rarely gave it a thought.   
  
Things were different now, just as the spirits told her and from what she sensed herself. Misuno always found amazingly disheartening things to say about the dark presences she kept feeling and AB tried her best to keep everything calm between hikari and yami, but there was always an edge of worry to her voice. She to sensed the darkness and was afraid.   
  
Her eyes shot wide open as a person walked by the street corner she was standing at. He didn't seem to pay her any mind, but it was the powerfully evil aura that he exuded that left her starring after him. The feeling was different from the dark presences that she had been sensing before, but there was something familiar about it, as if she had sensed it before in a weaker state.   
  
"Misuno...AB...what now?"  
  
**************************  
  
The attacker, who Ryu recognized as an old friend, sheathed her sword as Ryu lowered his gun and smirked, "You shouldn't be jumping people for fun ya' know."  
  
"I just wanted to see if you kept your old skills...apparently you haven't," replied Hinata, she pointed to the gun "otherwise you wouldn't gave used that."  
  
"Yeah, I'd really go hand against a sword," replied Ryu, "So what brings you to Domino?" Hinata pulled out her deck, "I've heard rumors about an upcoming tournament. Are you gonna enter?"  
  
Ryu reached under his sleeve, carefully so not to reveal the Gauntlets, and took out his deck, "I don't know. Maybe. I don't really know anything about the tournament, and I'm not exactly a top-ranked duelist. It'd be my first tournament."  
  
As Ryu stood up, Hinata looked over at the grave, "Is that where they buried my brother?"  
  
"Yeah."  
  
"Seems like just yesterday when mom and dad got the news that you and my brother ran away. Why did you guys do that anyways?" Hinata had a hint of anger in her voice, giving a clue that she thought that Robert's death was his fault.  
  
"We were involved in a gang fight; I was still like nine or ten when it happened so they just hid me in a floor tile. Your brother and I were the only ones who survived and the onslaught left both of us alone, with the rest of the enemy after us. So we had to run away," Ryu explained, "A few years later, he was killed when the two of us were caught in the middle of a gang war."  
  
"Oh……"  
  
"Listen, I gotta go now," Ryu lifted up his backpack, "I swear, there's about a hundred pounds of homework in here."  
  
As he walked away, he looked back to wave goodbye but Hinata already disappeared. He then walked away, towards his home. Halfway, he decided to take a shortcut through the middle of the city.  
  
Halfway though a dark alley (A.N.- where else?) he was confronted by someone he knew from school, "Hey Drake."  
  
Drake had been 'hunting' Ryu for a while now. It wasn't hard to find out more about since he worked as a programmer for Kaiba Corp. Drake didn't know him that well from school, but he knew enough not to mess with the guy in a fight. Drake was tough, but while the 17 year old was shorter then he was, the guy was known to be an excellent fighter. As for dueling skill, Drake had drawn a blank because there was no record of Ryu ever having competed in a tournament.   
  
"Hey there Ryu. Here, take this." With one swift motion he tossed Ryu something. The older boy caught in and looked down at it, he looked a little confused. Whether it was because he didn't recognize the device or because it was just strange to get tossed something like that in the middle of the night by someone you didn't really know was uncertain.   
  
"A duel disk? What for?" Drake gave the older boy a look that said, 'what do you think we use it for?' and then attached his own to his arm.   
  
"We use it to duel. So that's what we're going to do."  
  
Ryu looked down at the disk again and then back up at Drake. "Why in would we duel at all? Especially now?" Drake grinned and inserted his deck into the disk, but before he could give an answer something happened.   
  
Ryu's eyes widened as a small medallion hanging around Drake's neck lit up with a golden light...and moments later Drake's entire demeanor had changed. He no longer seemed remotely friendly, in fact he seemed downright cruel. Instead of a grin he wore a smirk and he even held his body differently. Something was definitely off, and it was about time Ryu left. "This is getting weird...so I'm just gonna say goodbye and walk away, okay?"  
  
"Hardly. You won't be walking away from this, in fact, if you don't beat me in a duel then you'll never leave a world of eternal darkness. If I win you get stuck there and I get to take your Blue Eyes." Drake's smirk widened as the alleyway began to contort, it was no longer small and dark...it was endless and dark. A vast purplish darkness surrounded them that seemed to stretch on infinitely.   
  
"What is this place?"   
  
"Welcome to the Shadow Realm! You can find exits nowhere, later on we might bring peanuts, but unless you win there won't be any movie, and without a movie you're bound to get bored with such a long stay in such an empty place. There's no telling whether you'll go mad before you starve to death, but either is perfectly unpleasant for you and fairly amusing for me. So feel free to forfeit at any time if you really want to."  
  
Ryu rolled his eyes as he attached the duel disk to his arm and inserted his deck. Drake was acting like your traditional anime villain, dishing out death threats as jokes left and right. "Drake, I'm in no mood to duel right now, especially not here."  
  
"Too bad, so sad. But your choices still remain as dueling or forfeiting automatically and spending the rest of your short life here. So what do you say?"   
  
Ryu knew that Drake was a very good duelist, and didn't think he could beat him. He reached into his pocket for his gun, he was prepared to make a threat. He soon realized it wasn't there. Now there was no backing out. "So how do you do this?"  
  
Drake smirked and drew his opening hand. "You should know, you're the programmer here, not me." Drake knew full well that Ryu was merely stalling for time, and wasn't going to brook any more delays.   
  
Ryu sighed and watched as the life point counters rose to 2000 and he drew the first five cards. His hand was a decent one with two basic monsters, one ritual monster, and two traps. As the challenged duelist he was supposed to go first, so he drew his sixth card and then decided what he was going to do. "I'll summon Darkfire Soldier #2(1700/1150) in attack mode and lay one card face down."  
  
Drake's smirked remained as he drew his sixth card and with barely a glance at his hand made his first move. "I play this card in defense mode, and lay one more face down. That ends my turn."   
  
Ryu was curious as to why Drake had started with defense, but shook it off and drew one of his best cards, 'Perfect.' "I'll lay one card face down and summon Girochin Kuwagata(1700/1400) and end my turn." Ryu blinked a few times as he felt like breathing was a little bit harder then normal. It was probably the surroundings effecting him.   
  
"I flip my face down monster and activate his flip effect. My Vindictive Old Magician(450/600) allows me to select one of your monsters and destroy it. Next I'll summon Chaos Magician(2400/1900) in attack mode!"  
  
Darkfire Soldier exploded as of the old magician's effect, but before Drake could call an attack with his other magician a hole opened up under its feet and it fell into it, destroyed immediately. "You've activated my Trap Hole card." Drake just shrugged and passed his turn to Ryu.   
  
Ryu drew in a sharp breath at the start of his turn. He had felt a twinge of pain right as his soldier was destroyed...but that was probably just a coincidence. "I'll summon Battle Ox(1700/1000) in attack and then have Girochin attack your monster." The insect monster flew across the field and crushed the old mage between its mighty pincers, but its destruction didn't seem to effect Drake, so Ryu knew he had to have been imagining things.   
  
Drake smirked as he added his next card to his hand. "I'll play a monster in defense mode and end my turn."   
  
Ryu held out his hand to call an attack with Battle Ox, whose big axe was swiftly stopped by the defenses of Mystic Elf(800/2000), meaning he lost 300 life points.   
  
Ryu: 1700  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
As it became Drake's turn again, the experienced duelist began to smirk again. He had obviously come across something good. "I'll set this card and summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) in defense mode. That'll end my turn."   
  
Ryu grinned at the start of his next turn. Drake had made a serious mistake by not attacking with his magician while he had the chance. Now he was going to pay the price. "I'll summon my best monster, the Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500)! Next I'll equip him with Megamorph to double his attack!" Ryu was about worried when Drake seemed unfazed by facing the massive white dragon with an attack strength of 6000.   
  
"I activate Just Desserts, doing 500 damage for each of your monsters." Ryu moaned in pain as his life points dropped to 200. Obviously something was up, when a monster of his was destroyed it hurt him, and when he lost life points it hurt, but nothing like that seemed to be happening to Drake. Trying to shake it off he called for the Blue Eyes to attack, and the black mage was swiftly annihilated. Then to keep his life points safe he switched his other two monsters into defense mode.   
  
Ryu: 200  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"It's all over now. I play the Shadow of Eyes card to switch your monsters into attack mode...and now I play Change of Heart to take control of your own Blue Eyes and order it to attack your monsters!" Ryu was blasted backwards by the white lightning that enveloped his monsters, and mere moments later the duel ended and Ryu had lost.   
  
He struggled to stand but felt that the pain was too great, he wasn't even able to move to stop Drake from snatching up his Blue Eyes. "This is mine to keep now, but I'll be giving it to a man named Malik. If you're curious as to why I'm telling you this, its because I want you to stew over it during your time locked in here.   
  
Ryu shook his head and pushed himself to his fist, clenching his fists. He felt a surge of power flow through him from the gauntlets. "Why are you doing this?" Drake smirked yet again.  
  
"Because I desire power above all else, and I can get some of that power from keeping you trapped within the Shadow Realm. Nothing personal. Though in truth I do get a kind of amusement from seeing mortals like you squi...impossible!"  
  
Ryu watched in shock as Drake grabbed his head in between his hands and bent over groaning in pain. Suddenly the world seemed to shift...and standing in front of him were two Drakes. One looked malevolent, the other kind, and slowly the first one faded into a female form, pretty, with hair and eyes just like Drake's, but a petulant mouth that complimented the arrogance flashing in her eyes.   
  
_______________________________________________  
  
Next Time: Ryu and Drake make it out of the Shadow Realm, but you probably knew that would happen, not saying how though. However just when Drake thinks his troubles are over, he's forced into a duel against a Rare Hunter who claims to the the Master of Light... 


	4. Master of the Light

Disclaimer: Nope, no Yu-gi-oh yet.   
  
Chapter Three: Master of the Light  
  
The woman glared at Drake and shook her hair out, she glanced at Ryu as if checking to see whether he had any part in the separation, once she was sure he hadn't she returned her withering gaze to Drake. "So you do have a little fight left in you. It doesn't matter, you won't remember any of this after we leave the Shadow Realm."  
  
Drake was panting and sweating, it had taken an exertion of the spirit, which here was the physical, to free himself from the dark spirit that he taken control. Slowly he limped over to Ryu and helped him stand, placing an arm around the older boy's shoulders so they could assist each other in walking. "Ryu is coming with us, you don't have a choice about the matter."  
  
The spirit's near hysterical laughter caught both of them off guard, that was the last thing they had been expecting. After over a minute of the laughter she caught her breath and spoke, "You? Not giving me a choice? Omegus will put you in your place." She raised the card high above her head and a blinding light issued forth from it.   
  
The two duelists stared up in amazement at the eight foot tall black and silver armored demi-god that stood above. He raised his shining sword and swung it down upon them attempting to slice them in half. They were both experienced fighters and were able to react in time to avoid it. At the same moment the two pushed away from each other splitting them apart and letting Omegus' blade pass harmlessly through the air.   
  
Omegus turned towards the closest one, Ryu, and attacked again. This time, in his weakened state, Ryu wasn't able to dodge. His luck held out for one brief instant as in pure blind instinct he flung his arms up to stave off the blow, and the blade connected with his impenetrable gauntlets, saving his life and hurling him nearly thirty feet through the air. He passed out on contact.  
  
It was time to stop this, Omegus was Drake's monster, his favorite monster, and he sure as hell wasn't going to let this dark spirit command him. Drake was the only one who could stop it because neither he nor Ryu knew how to summon a monster like the spirit had done. He focused all of his will power and shouted to his monster as it came in for the attack. "Omegus, stop this now!"  
  
The giant monster suddenly stopped, blade hovering mere inches away from Drake's skull. It was confused, not knowing whose orders to follow, Drake's or the spirit's. It kept switching its gaze back and forth between the two. The spirit finally cracked and shouted at it. "Omegus, what the hell is wrong with you? When I say attack you attack, you're my monster, you're my slave!."  
  
That was the deciding point, the monster turned and focused its gaze at the spirit ready to attack on Drake's command. Drake looked towards the spirit that so resembled his sister, and yet was so filled with malice. Had this spirit resided within the Millennium Disc while his sister had it, was it in some way part of his sister, the dark part of her?   
  
He shook his head, refusing to believe such a thing, it was his darkness and was merely trying to play mind tricks, it couldn't be anything else. "Omegus is no slave to anyone, and if anything he'll obey me because we have a bound of the heart. Because my heart is linked to my cards the cards within it are linked to me. Free us all from the Shadow Realm spirit, or I will have Omegus destroy you, even if it means trapping us all here." The spirit snarled and waved her hand freeing them all, and engulfing them in light.  
  
*********************  
  
Back in the alley, Ryu regained consciousness and checked his watch, 7:30 p.m. "Damn, I'm gonna kill him." Ryu still had tons of homework to do and only five and a half hours to do it. Not to mention the loss of his Blue Eyes and the attempt on his life. He walked back to his apartment to find Hinata standing outside the door, "You stalking me or something?"  
  
"Well I just came from America and I need a place to stay, you know I wouldn't want to pay for a hotel room, and…" Ryu droned out the rest of her words, "Whatever. Just go inside already." Ryu walked over to the kitchen table and sat down to do his homework as Hinata went straight to the T.V. Ryu couldn't concentrate on his homework, he kept thinking about his Blue Eyes and how he lost it. He took out his gun and placed it in front of him on the table "I'm getting my card back, Malik or whoever is gonna regret the day he decided he wanted my Dragon."  
  
************************  
  
It was a mere hour later that found Drake back at the docks to deliver the Blue Eyes, with only a vague recollection of how he got it. He remembered challenging Ryu to a duel in which the stakes were a card set by each player's opponent, but he didn't really remember the duel or his trip to the docks. It was confusing but every time he started to think about it, the thoughts just seemed to slip away, as if they were greased.  
  
Drake's arms shot up to shield his eyes as bright lights came up illuminating the darkness. In front of him was the dueling platform he had used in his duel against the Rare Hunter, but everything else that had been in the room was gone, except for the robed figure that stood on the opposite end of the dueling platform, a Rare Hunter waiting for him. "I got the Blue Eyes, so I guess that means I'm Rare Hunter now right? All official and everything?"  
  
The feminine laugh that answered him wasn't what he was expecting. What he had been expecting was a gravely almost scary voice to tell him that he had done well, and his next mission would come soon, not a woman's laughter. "You might have gained the approval of the others, but I won't accept you until you've proved you can do well against a Rare Hunter of true skill. One like me, me and the Blue Eyes that you are about to give me."  
  
"What? This is bullshit! I did everything I was told and now I'm being challenged to a duel by yet another Rare Hunter who doesn't think I'm up to snuff. That and I have to give her, you, the Blue Eyes that I won?"   
  
The woman tossed back her hood revealing chestnut hair and amazing blue eyes. She was gorgeous, and about eighteen, with a smile that made Drake think of secluded corners he knew at Domino High, secluded corners couples used. He shook the thought and tried to make it seem like he was just looking at her, instead of staring at her. Unconsciously he stepped onto the platform which raised to playing level, and he shuffled his deck. He placed the Blue Eyes in the transfer slot and watched her pick it up and shuffle it into her deck. "Ready Drake?"  
  
He wasn't even remotely surprised that she knew his name, it just figured. "Absolutely, and what might I ask is your name?"  
  
"I'm Kirani, and I'm the Master of Light. Believe me, it's a title I earned when I became the top ranked light-based deck user in the world. Not only that but being a Rare Hunter has given me even rarer cards, so don't expect to stand a chance against me."  
  
Kirani: 2000  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"As a gentlemen its my right to give the lady the first move. So please, take it."  
  
She smiled acceptingly and drew an opening hand of six cards and surveyed them. She had told him she played using a light-type deck, so he could expect plenty of mainly weak cards. Light cards weren't all that powerful in general, though there were some good ones. "I summon Dunamis Valkyria(1800/1050) in attack mode, not only that but I'll add the field card Luminous Spark which raises light type's attack by 500 and their defense by 400." Dunamis' attack was altered to 2300 and its defense to 650.   
  
"I'll close my turn by playing God's Blessing, which will give me five hundred extra life points every time I draw a card."  
  
Drake smiled as he realized that the duel might be tougher then he thought. Already she had an impressive monster out on the field and a way to raise her life points every turn. But it didn't matter, he'd win anyways, he always found a way. "I have to thank you for the light-type field, because it powers up my Chaos Magician(2400/1900) to (2900/1500). Chaos Magic attack!" The spellcaster raised his staff and sent a blast of magic at the warrior destroying it.  
  
Kirani: 1400  
  
Drake: 2000  
  
"That was a good one, but it hardly does any good with God's Blessing on the field. Now that I draw my life points raise by 500, and then I'll just summon Wingweaver(3250/200) whose increased attack strength is more then enough to annihilate your spellcaster." She gave that dazzling smile again and he nearly melted in his shoes. Of course he came to his senses when the angel blasted his magician to smithereens with rose petals.  
  
Kirani: 1900  
  
Drake: 1650  
  
Drake grinned at the card he had drawn even as he played it. "It doesn't matter how powerful your monsters are, because I have others ways to get at your life points. I play the magic card Revolution, it takes 200 life points from you for every card in your hand."  
  
Kirani: 1300  
  
Drake: 1650  
  
"Not only that, but I can play Dian Keto the Cure Master to raise my life points by 1000 and set a monster in defense. Your light deck is boring me so far, can't it do anything better?"  
  
Kirani: 1300  
  
Drake: 2650  
  
Kirani scowled, an expression that didn't look right on her beautiful face, but she shrugged it off and drew. She still had the advantage, even if it wasn't in life points. "I'll set Super Star(1000/300) in defense mode. Normally this little guy is terribly weak, but he makes up for it with his effect which is to power up light main-types attack by 500 including himself and to power down dark-types by 400."   
  
Kirani: 1800  
  
Super Star's attack rose to a decent 1500 and Wingweaver's to an impressive 3750. She called her attack and blasted his spellcaster into the cemetery. "You sent him right to the graveyard, but the advantage of Magician of Faith is that when he's flipped like he is in battle then I can select a magic card in my graveyard and add it to my hand."  
  
Drake smirked as he established his plan, and it was a good one. "I'll set this monster in defense, and then I'll play two magic cards. The first is Dian Keto which I recovered from the graveyard so I can raise my life points to 3650. The second is Change of Heart to steal the heart of the Wingweaver and make it my own for this turn."   
  
Kirani gasped in horror as the monster took his side of the field, three thousand seven hundred fifty attack points arrayed against her. "I set a card and then call an attack against Super Star!" The little monster never stood a chance, and was splintered into tiny pieces under the assault.   
  
But she began to smile again when it returned to her side of the field as she drew her card, adding yet another 500 life points to her score. "You didn't accomplish anything that way, all you did was remove on of my bonuses, but because of my next monster it doesn't even matter. I summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon(3500/2100) in attack mode! Now I'll play Horn of the Unicorn to power him up even further to 4200! Blue Eyes use your white lightning to destroy his defense monster."  
  
Drake smirked yet again when the monster was destroyed, vaporized took quickly to be visible. "Yet again you attacked a monster with a flip effect. This one was the Vindictive Old Magician, who when flipped gets nasty and retaliates, letting me destroy on of your monsters...and I choose the Blue Eyes."   
  
Kirani: 2300  
  
He drew and then slapped down his next two cards as quickly as he could. He could feel victory coming ever nearer. "I will play two magic cards this turn, the first is Humble which reduces your Wingweaver's attack by 1000 for the next two turns. The second is Monster Reborn to revive the Blue Eyes(3500/2100). Now I'll use his White Lightning to remove that winged woman. The angel screamed in terror as the lightning swept over her, but soon she was no more.  
  
Kirani: 1050  
  
Drake: 3650  
  
Kirani meekly set two cards and a defense monster, then ended her turn. Drake began his turn by summoning Neo the Magic Swordsman(2200/600) in attack and setting a card of his own, but his lead took a sharp deep as a strange flotation ring attached itself to his dragon and a spinning wheel appeared in front of Kirani. "I activate my face down cards, Destruction Ring and Wheel of Protection!" In one massive blast the Blue Eyes exploded, taking with it most of Drake's life points.   
  
Kirani: 1050  
  
Drake: 150  
  
"Now that its my turn again I know all I have to do is summon a monster with an enhanced 2350 attack strength or higher and I'll win. Sad isn't it. So now I summon Thunder Lady(2400/400) and I attack to finish the duel."  
  
"I activate Mirror Force!" The attack was reflected and Thunder Lady was destroyed, but Kirani's defense monster wasn't effected.   
  
Kirani: 1550  
  
"I'll play Wizard Mentor to transform Neo into the Black Paladin(2900/2400), and by discarding a card I can negate the effect of a face up magic card, I'll do so on both God's Blessing and Luminous Spark." Black Paladin swept his blade in a swift arc and Kirani's defense monster was destroyed.  
  
Kirani took a deep breath, drew...and placed her palm on the top of her deck. "I can't summon anything this turn, so I automatically lose since you have the Black Paladin. Congratulations, and welcome to the Rare Hunters." The lights blacked out once more, and Drake was left to find his way out of the dark, and make his way home for some much needed sleep.   
  
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Next Time: Next time, Battle City announcments are made and soon after Battle City begins, but with so many hidden agendas, how will things turn out? 


	5. Battle City Approaches

Disclaimer: Getting warmer...but still no Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Chapter Four: Battle City Approaches  
  
Yawning, Drake flopped down on his bed without even getting undressed and started to fall asleep. Of course he quickly noticed an annoying pain in his side that told him he had forgotten to remove his deck from his pocket. Sighing, he rose from the bed and took his wallet out of one pocket and set it aside, then took his deck out of the other and put it next to his wallet. Then he returned to the bed to get some much need and well deserved sleep. "Drake! Something was left for you earlier today!"   
  
Drake groaned at being kept from sleep by his mother's call. He didn't want to get up, and whatever it was could wait for tommorow, even though it wasn't night yet he felt exhausted for some reason. So, he ignored his mother....for roughly a minute. "DRAKE! GET DOWN HERE RIGHT NOW!"  
  
He groaned once more and pulled himself out of bed and made his way downstairs to where his mother was making dinner. "Yes mother? What is it?" She rolled her eyes at his supposed formality and handed him a little letter. He glanced at it quizically and then took it up to his room to check it out. Once he sat down he opened it up and looked inside. The Kaiba Corporation symbol on it told him immediately that he was in trouble...or at least that was his first reaction.  
  
"Daisuke Ihachi, your presence is requested in Domino Square at 9:00 p.m. sharp for a special announcement by Seto Kaiba, CEO of Kaiba Corporations. You are invited not as a Kaiba Corp. employee, but as a highly skilled duelist." Drake's eyes lit up as he finished reading the letter, instantly he realized what it meant. The rumors that had been circulating through Kaiba Corp. were true, Kaiba was going to hold a tournament...and it was going to be announced in twenty minutes! Feeling lucky that he had been too tired to undress he hurled himself out the door, down the stairs, and onto the street at a dead run. It took twenty-five minutes on foot, even running, to get to Domino Square from his house!  
  
******************************  
  
He ran as fast as he possibly could, probably faster then he ever had before, but still it wasn't fast enough. Unconsciously he ticked down the seconds and minutes until the announcement was supposed to be made, only three minutes and nineteen seconds left. His feet ached with the pounding he was giving them as he hurtled across the black top. Thirty seconds left!   
  
Kaiba's voice booming over the whirring of a helicopter was the first sign that he was nearing the square, but he was still too far to be able to hear what was being said. If anything this made Drake put on a sudden burst of speed, making his leg muscles burn with the strain. His body just wasn't used to this kind of all out running, it wasn't made for it. "IN ONE WEEK THIS CITY WILL BE A BATTLE CITY!"   
  
Drake came to a skidding halt dropped to his knees, panting for breath, sucking desperately at the air around him. His lungs were on fire...and to make it all worse, Kaiba's copter was rising up and away...he had already finished his announcement! "No...wait..." A few people gathered around him to see what was wrong and to help him up.   
  
"Are you okay?" Drake blinked his eyes and refocused them on the people in front of him. One, by the height and hair, was most definitely Yugi Motou, then there was Mai Valentine, who Drake recognized from his previous defeat. There was another girl with them, but he didn't know who she was, there was also a lanky fellow with blond hair and green eyes. Drake managed a nod and took in a few more deep breaths before he felt that he was ready to speak.  
  
"I'm fine. Thanks for helping me...but could any of you tell me what Kaiba said? I missed the announcement because I only saw my letter twenty minutes ago." The four of them grinned, and the blond boy gestured for the others to tell them. With that decided they proceeded to tell him about a rule about betting your rarest card at the beginning of a duel, and the new duel discs that everyone would be using. According to them he had one week to prepare himself and register for the tournament.   
  
"Thanks, I know I probably would have found out eventually, but knowing now is a lot easier on me. Now I just hope I can tune my deck and my dueling skill enough to make a fair showing in Battle City...this time you better hope you don't run into me Mai, otherwise you'll find yourself in a duel you just can't win." The blond laughed at his comments, and told him he'd lose just as badly as he had in their first duel. Yugi and his friend, Tea, wished him long, and the three headed off. Now it was just him and the blond boy.  
  
"So...who are you anyways, you don't exactly look like you're from around here." The blond boy grinned and spoke in a very thick accent, thick enough that Drake barely recognized the words as Japanese in origin, translating their meaning was something completely different, because the words were so garbled.   
  
"I am Lucas Braunham, Germany's Champion, I wish you well in Battle City." With those words Germany's Champion Duelist turned and walked away, becoming lost in the crowd. Drake grinned, it had been a very interested few days, and it looked like everything was going to get even more interesting.   
  
**************************  
  
"I attack with Parrot Dragon which ends the duel." The young man casually brushes his brown hair out of his eyes, eyes that are an icy blue color, eyes that can chill you to the bone. He rises and gathers his deck together and calmly slips it into his pocket. The boy he had been dueling was one of his...friends. One of his few friends. That didn't bother the young man in the slightest, he wouldn't let it. It hadn't bothered him before he changed, and it bothered him even less after the change.   
  
He was what most would call, an outcast. At least in popular society. And while he remembered having been an outcast all through his time in school, all through life, he also remembered being extremely well thought of, or at least thought of a lot, and with a great amount of fear. He remembered people begging him for their lives right before he snatched it away. He remembered being practically worshiped, but the people of this age didn't remember him at all, there was no worship, no fear, and it disgusted him. Not many people thought of what he used to be at all, it was as if all memories of his existence and the rest of his kind's existence had been destroyed.  
  
Or maybe it was what he was...there was no way to be sure. But he was certain on one thing, he had been given a new lease on life, a lease that none could take back. And he would use his second chance to succeed where he had failed before. He would use the magic of ancient Egypt to accomplish his goal, the same magic that had once thwarted him, and once he had succeeded, he would have revenge against the ones who had brought this change upon him in the first place. He would have the ultimate revenge, for when he succeeded, they would all cease to exist.  
  
Once he was out of range of his so called friend he pulled a cell phone from his pocket, and hit the six for a speed dial. The phone rang a few times before a deep, somewhat raspy voice answered. "Yes?"   
  
"Have I been registered into Battle City?" There was a brief pause, and a quake in the man's voice before he responded. This one at least knew to fear him, and well that he did.  
  
"Of course sir, everything is as you requested it."  
  
"Perfect. And the cards I requested to be sent with the package?"  
  
"They have been sent as well, they are waiting at the set location." A small smile crossed the young man's features, a smile that did not touch his cold eyes. He remembered showing far more joy, joy at the pain and death's of thousands of mortals, but things had changed since those days, he no longer had luxuries of the old.  
  
"The gods?"  
  
"Obelisk is with Seto Kaiba, the other two remain with the second Ishtar. There was silence for an extended period of time, finally the person on the other end spoke once more, daring to hope that his master wouldn't be displeased with this news.   
  
"Is there anything else you wish to know sir?" Taichi Nobuki, the new Taichi Nobuki, clicked the phone shut and slipped it into his pocket, alongside his deck. There would be a few modifications to take care of, and then he would walk out into Battle City, a three star duelist who would be 'easy prey' for any heavier hitters.   
  
"Everything is going exactly as I foresaw." Taichi stepped through the door of the place that for the moment he called home, or at least part of him called home. The other part of him called it a drab apartment not worthy to house his greatness. In a way he thought that both sides were right, but only one opinion really mattered.   
  
A voice called out from somewhere in the apartment, a female voice that one part of him called mother. The other called her nothing, he had no time for this woman. "Taichi, you've been out too long, you should have called in to tell me you'd be late from school."  
  
"It slipped my mind."  
  
"Well as long as your back, I better let you know. I package came for you while you were at school, it said strictly not to open. What kind of packages are you getting young man? If its anything that I wouldn't like then you will so be grounded!"  
  
Taichi rolled his eyes and walked into the 'kitchen' where his 'mother' was making dinner. On the counter was the package. "It's nothing mother, just a dueling disk."   
  
"Dueling disk? Don't tell me you've entered yourself into this new tournament! And without my permission?"  
  
"I'm going to be in the city the whole time anyways...and besides, we're off school now. I was with friends." Taichi hated having to tell this woman things, hated having her pester him. But if he removed her, then things would suddenly get suspicious, and even his connections couldn't keep things totally silent. Eventually something would get out, eventually...  
  
Several minutes later Taichi sat down on his bed and opened the package, careful not to ruin the contents. He made sure that his hands were clean before handling what was inside. Within the box was the box with his duel disk and locater card, the card that was like the star chips of duelist kingdom. A smaller package was also inside, something small enough to be a box of duel monsters cards. Smirking he opened the box and looked through the cards. Everything he needed was there. It didn't take him more then an hour to perfectly assemble his deck, and then he was prepared to crush every duelist he faced. There would be no challenges to his skill except for one, that one he would leave for last.   
  
The prospect of taking the rarest card off of any duelist he beat was amusing to him. He had all the rare cards anyone could possibly want and more, except for three cards that should be in his hands. Deck ready, and Duel Disk on his arm he left his 'home' and entered the bulk of Domino City. Or rather, Battle City. His wave of victories had just begun.   
  
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Ryu woke up to the familiar sound of his alarm clock. After getting up and dressed, he walked out into the living room to see Hinata half awake, watching TV, "Morning..."  
  
"Morning," Ryu walked over to the closet were Hinata had put her two swords, one metal, one bamboo. He picked up the metal one and put it under his overcoat. He glanced over at Hinata who hadn't taken her eyes off the TV. He was about to go out the door when she spoke, "That's my sword, so if you plan on doing anything with it… I suggest you don't."  
  
"What makes you think that I'd do anything with it?"  
  
"There are two things a tired person can think of to use a weapon for…killing and selling…I suggest that you use your sword for that…" Hinata yawned when she was finished.  
  
"I don't have it anymore. The landlord told me to get rid of it or I'd be back on the streets," replied Ryu as he tried to leave again, "Wait…" Hinata got up and walked over to him, "You're insane enough to go around with a sword?"  
  
"Oh… I…uhh…hadn't thought of that…I guess I'm still tired,"" Ryu handed her the katana and went for his bowie knife, still crimson from embarrassment. After he left, Hinata grabbed the bamboo sword and went after him.  
  
Outside, she caught up to him when he was about to get on a bus, "What's been up with you lately? You seem…stressed," Ryu lifted an eyebrow, "Okay, that's normal for you…you just…just seem more stressed."  
  
Ryu got off the bus and it drove away. After a few seconds, he handed her his deck, "Look through it, do you see a Blue-Eyes anywhere in there?"  
  
"Of course not, there's only four…and Seto Kaiba has three of them, the last one is rumored to have been destroyed or something," she replied.  
  
"I came across the print used for the Blue Eyes in an abandoned Industrial Illusions factory, so I set the machine to running and managed to make myself one before the machine went totally caput. It was mine…mine until some kid got to it. I need to find it, and I have no clue where the hell to look, so I might as well start now."  
  
"Just don't do anything stupid, okay? I don't want you to end up like my brother…At least let me help you."  
  
"The people who took it…they have powers…I can't explain it well. The guy who took my card took me to some place he called the shadow realm…we dueled there…Then after it, he…they split apart and one of them brought the card to life…it attacked me…I blacked out…when I woke up my card was gone. It's dangerous, and you don't have the years of experience I have," replied Ryu.  
  
"Well, I'm experienced enough to beat you," argued Hinata, "Remember last week?"  
  
"Luck…"  
  
"What do you mean 'luck'? I've been taking Kendo since I was eleven!" replied Hinata. Ryu turned around, "And I've been on the streets, fighting for my life for more than eight years."  
  
Hinata looked down as Ryu spoke, "Just stay here, okay?"  
  
Hinata nodded her head, "How are you going to find them?"  
  
Ryu sighed and gestured to the deck in the slot of his Millennium Gauntlet. "I've got other rare cards in here, so I figure I'll snag a duel disk, and do some dueling. Hopefully those guys will hear about it and come after me, I'll work my way from there. That's the best plan I've been able to come up with."  
  
Ryu blinked at the card that was shoved in his face. "What are you doing? This Jinzo...its your best card...your rarest card. Why are you giving it to me?"  
  
"Don't be stupid. If you're gonna take on these guys who beat you before you're gonna need all the good cards you can get, and I want to help you out in any way that I can. Since you won't let me come with you, I'm just gonna have to settle with giving you my rarest card to duel with."  
  
"Thank you Hinata, but please, stay here, and stay safe."  
  
*************************  
  
Dalin Imaki Sumatin wasn't quite certain how he was where he was. However he did know that he owed Malik Ishtar quite a debt, though at the moment that wasn't particularly important. He needed to find...Dalin stopped in thought. He could no longer remember who he needed to find, that memory had slipped away like so many others before it. Now he only knew that he was searching for someone, and that Malik had made him quite aware that the person he quested for he could find in Domino City.   
  
His thoughts drifted to a conversation coming from around the corner. Somehow it had reached his ears and he soon realized its importance. "...They have powers…I can't explain it well. The guy who took my card took me to some place he called the shadow realm…we dueled there…Then after it, he…they split apart and one of them brought the card to life…it attacked me…I blacked out…when I woke up my card was gone. It's dangerous, and you don't have the years of experience I have."  
  
That stopped Dalin. The rest of the words flowed past him as his thoughts dwelled upon some of those words. The words 'Shadow Realm'. Words that meant a great deal to him. "Malik was right, the games do continue. Then I suppose the cards I possess may come in handy."  
  
The last few words drifted to his ears, the words of a woman. "I gotta help him." Dalin walked around the corner and stopped beside the woman. He did not look directly at her, women were not important and held no true status unless of noble birth. Or at least they hadn't. Not from what he remembered.   
  
"Do you truly wish to help him?"  
  
  
  
The woman looked up at him and replied cautiously, "Yes..."  
  
"Then follow me." And he began walking off after the bus that had carried the man away, this was a lead that he had to follow. If he didn't, he might never find who he was searching for. Even if he didn't remember who that was.  
  
Hinata followed the mysterious man through Domino city. She knew that it wasn't a smart move, following someone she didn't know and all, but she was desperate. If anything happened to Ryu she wouldn't be able to cope without him, "How do you know where he is? How do you know who I'm looking for?"  
  
"I don't know where he is," he replied, "I was just following the bus."  
  
"Don't you think I could do that myself?" came her reply.  
  
"No."  
  
"So, why do you care?" she asked.  
  
"...I know where your friend's card is," he lied. He didn't want to reveal his true intentions. That he didn't truly want to help, but to find out what Ryu knew.   
  
"Oh... Well, he did say that he was going to Kaiba Land to get in a duel," she said, still not trusting the man who stood before her, "Maybe we should wait there. Then when he's done we can follow him."  
  
"I suppose that will have to do."  
  
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Next Time: The first Battle City duel of our series explodes into action, and meanwhile Ryu starts searching and another duelist does battle with astounding skill... 


	6. Opening Duel, Twin Mages Arise!

Disclaimer: Its not really summer until you've had your ballpark...err...I don't own Yu-gi-oh?   
  
Chapter Five: Opening Duel, Twin Mages Arise!  
  
The week's wait was over, Drake's deck was ready, and Malik had ordered the Rare Hunters to be prepared to take their pick of cards at Battle City. It was to be the largest gathering of Rare Hunters in one place ever, and not a single card would be safe from them. Having made his way out to the general area where Kaiba had specified the tournament would begin he walked around, trying to pick his first opponent. By putting in the name of a duelist in any computer on the Battle City website you could get their star rating and their rarest card, but of course he didn't know everyone's name, nor did he happen to have a laptop he could bring with him.   
  
It wasn't long before Kaiba came on and explained the Locater Cards that everyone had, and how the whole thing would work out. It was simple enough, it also meant that speed was a key. If you won the six locater cards you needed but were slow in doing it, you could arrive to discover that the finals had already started. "It's time to get going, but who am I going to duel?"  
  
"What about me?" At the sound of a the thick German accent that slaughtered the Japanese it was spoken with Drake instantly knew who it was. He whirled around to find none other than Lucas Braunam, Germany's Champ. Drake grinned when he saw Lucas. He knew more about the professional duelist then he had at their previous meeting, because he had deliberately checked out his stats on the website to know just what he might expect if he met Lucas either in the tournament or in the finals. Lucas was counted as a five star duelist, whose rarest card was 'Twin Mages' a card that Drake didn't recognize.   
  
"I'll duel you, and then I'll take your Twin Mages card. Should be interesting to face the best duelist in all of Germany. Oh yeah, and I hope this will be a good one, I owe you that just for the little bit of help you gave me last week." He grinned at the German who flashed him a grin of his own. They were seeing eye to eye on one thing at least, neither was going to give anything less then their best in this duel, or any other.   
  
"Yes, after I defeat you then I will have your Wizard Mentor card. Do not worry Drake, even a four star duelist like yourself might manage to put up a fight against an expert like myself. The best duelist in all of Germany as you said yourself."   
  
Drake smirked and cracked his knuckles. "You're forgetting one thing Lucas."  
  
"What is that?"  
  
"You're not in Germany anymore." Drake and Lucas faced each other, both sizing the other one up, trying to decide just what kind of duelist they would be facing, and whether they had any obvious weaknesses to exploit.   
  
As of yet, both had come up with nothing. All that was left for them, was to begin the duel and go from there. "Germany or no, I still intend to..." Lucas stopped momentarily and reached into his pocket, flipping through a booklet.  
  
Drake face faulted, but recovered quickly and queried his would-be opponent. "What in the world are you doing?"  
  
"Be quiet would you! I'm looking up how to say something!" Drake rolled his eyes realizing that though Lucas spoke very good Japanese, even with his terrible accent, he wasn't perfect at the langauge.   
  
"Just forget it and lets duel already!" Lucas harumphed and tossed the booklet down, extending his arm to launch the projectors. Drake did the same. Projectors launched and field ready, both's counters raised to 4000 LP each. The duel was ready to start.   
  
"I'll be nice since your a tourist and give you the first move."  
  
Lucas nodded and drew his sixth card and added it to his hand. "I thank you, now we'll just have to see if you can handle this. I summon Rocket Warrior(1500/1300) in attack mode and lay one card face down." With surprising realness the green machine warrior shimmered into view on the field, behind him hovered a holographic image of a Duel Monster's card. Kaiba had outdone himself this time, these versions were even more realistic then the Dueling Platform versions.  
  
It took Drake a moment to remember Rocket Warrior's effect, and it was a dangerous one. He'd have to get rid of the little warrior quickly, so he wouldn't have to worry about its effect. Unless of course he let it use its effect..."One monster in reverse defense mode and a card face down." The warriors had been summoned and the field was set, it was set up in a way that made the area in between them seem like a dueling mat. On Lucas' field there stood a small warrior with a shield and a sword, who didn't look all that impressive, and a card floating behind him. On Drake's field was a card in the turned position face down, representing the monster he had placed. Behind it was also another hovering card.  
  
"I'll summon Crazy-Eye Beast(1700/1200) in attack mode. Then I'll play this magic card, Double Meaning, which works on any effects that alter a monsters stats. Rocket Warrior will attack to bring down your monsters attack and defense by 500 points and Crazy-Eye Beast will attack as well!" The tiny warrior shifted into the form of a rocket and launched itself at Drake's defense monster, striking and rebounding.   
  
From within the card materialized a strange looking creature with no face, and two dolls heads beside the main head. The No-Face Illusionist(1200/2200) was decreased in attack and defense by Rocket Warrior's effect to 700 attack and 1700 defense. Crazy-Eye Beast, a massive monster with eyes on its chest, swung its nasty looking claws at No-Face Illusionist, to no effect. The attack of the beast was equal to No-Face's defense.   
  
Lucas: 4000  
  
Drake: 4000  
  
"Well that was a brilliant play Lucas, but not even remotely effective. Now No-Face Illusionists attack and defense are back to where they should be, and your beast can't destroy it." Drake drew without even glancing at his deck and then placed the card in his hand. He was at 5 cards again, and he knew exactly what to play.  
  
"I'll set another card face down, and summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) the best overall level 4 in the entire game. Skilled Black Magician, Black Magic blast Rocket warrior into oblivion!" The black robed spellcaster aimed his baton-like staff and let loose a beam of black energy, shattering Rocket Warrior like a pricked soap bubble.   
  
Lucas: 3600  
  
Drake: 4000  
  
"Well if that doesn't just beat all. But your still playing kiddy style, I'm about to show you real skill. I'll flip my magic card, Lost Freedom, which means that any destroyed defense monster, will still count against your life points. Then I'll tribute my Crazy-Eye to summon Blubber Force Soldier(2300/1100). Better yet, Crazy-Eye's effect is that once it goes to the graveyard it does direct damage to my opponent, equal to half of its attack at the time of its destruction." Drake winced in horror as a bloated man, whose skin seemed to be leaking out of his armor was summoned onto the field in Crazy-Eye's place, and even more so when the effect activated.   
  
Drake: 3150  
  
"Blubber Force Soldier will destroy your Illusionist and his effect will activate. He doubles the life point damage afflicted when he goes into battle with one of my opponent's monsters!" With one heave of his bloated body, the obese warrior crashed down upon the faceless mage and then hopped off, leaving No-Face Illusionist intact, and upon his forehead was a glowing horn.   
  
"You fell into my trap, one of my face down cards was the equip card, Horn of Light, which increases a monster's defense by 800, now your the one who's losing life points. And not only that, but your magic card sets a counter on my magician, as does my own magic card." Two small glowing jewels appeared above the spellcaster and floated there, untouched by anything.   
  
Lucas: 2600  
  
"What does a magic counter do?" Drake smirked at the worried look upon his face, not only because of the double damage he just dealt to himself, but because he obviously didn't know anything about magic counters. Drake had realized that advantage early on, since cards that used magic counters had only recently been released.   
  
"You'll have to find out for yourself." So far the duel was going in Drake's favor. He had a powerful level four out on the field, a monster with 2800 defense points, and a 550 life point lead. His opponent had a decent level six, and two magic cards, neither of which were a huge threat.  
  
Now it was Drake's turn, and he was ready to do what he could to finish the duel here and now. He drew and then looked over his hand, a decent hand, but not quite good enough. "I swith No-Face Illusionist into attack mode, and then I'll equip him with Black Pendant raising his attack to 1700. That places a third magic counter on my magician. Watch and be amazed as I use his effect to sacrifice the three magic counters and himself to special summon the Dark Magician(2500/2100). My Dark Magician will attack Blubber Force Soldier! The powerful spellcaster raised his wand and the color on the field inverted, blowing the tubby warrior into smithereens.   
  
Lucas: 2200  
  
"Now No-Face Illusionist will attack you directly!" But to Drake's shock Lucas didn't lose any life points from the attack. The only damage he had recieved, despite the direct attack, was the doubled damage his Dark Magician had done when destroying Blubber Force Soldier.  
  
"What happened? The duel should have been over!" Lucas shook his head and tossed a card from his hand into his graveyard.   
  
"I used the effect of Kuriboh to bring down the life point damage from your second attack to zero." Lucas was definetely pissed, and he was willing to show it. He couldn't believe that he was losing to a four star duelist, and one from Japan! He knew for certain that the Germans were in every way superior, so how could he be losing? Snatching desperately at his deck for something to turn the tide he grinned in delight when his eyes fell upon the card.   
  
"I'll summon Spinning Top of Doom(700/600) in attack mode and then play a very special magic card, Randomizer Turkey!" A giant top, like the ones that were in the children's game appeared...but this one had spikes poking out of it. And a strange looking turkey with a shimmering aura about it appeared on the field, and as soon as it did all the other monsters on the field began to flicker, and it Drake quickly noticed that the counters for attack and defense of each monster that he possessed was no longer fixed, in fact they were changing so fast he couldn't keep track of them.  
  
"This is where the fun really begins, you see Randomizer Turkey randomizes the stats of every monster on the field, and in a moment they will be finalized, and who knows what'll happen then!" Finally the counter stopped, and Drake could only sigh heavily at the results.   
  
Spinning Top of Doom(3039/86)  
  
No-Face Illusionist(1034/473)  
  
Dark Magician(1647/2745)  
  
"Spinning Top of Doom, attack No-Face Illusionist!" It spun over and crashed into his mage, tearing it and Drake's life points apart. Only the Dark Magician was left to defend Drake's life points.   
  
"I finish my turn by playing Clairvoyance, which for 100 life points lets me check the top card of your deck and then replace it." Lucas grimaced at whatever he saw, and motioned for his turn to end, but he didn't manage to get the words out before his life points took a dip.   
  
Lucas: 1600  
  
Drake: 1145  
  
Drake grinned as he drew. "You should have aimed for my Dark Magician, see when Black Pendant goes to the cemetery it deals 500 life points damage to you. I know you know what I just drew, which means you're expecting this. So enjoy the sight when I play Megamorph on the Dark Magician to double his attack points setting them at 3294! Dark Magic Attack!"   
  
And with one burst of purple magic, the Spinning Top of Doom was destroyed. But Drake knew not to celebrate, because there was no telling what Lucas would pull next. He had to remain on guard for anything.   
  
Lucas: 1345  
  
Lucas smirked and shook his head in disgust. "You're better then I thought, but you overlooked the obvious. That all my monsters so far have had effects, that doesn't take Spinning Top of Doom out of the mix. And its effect is to let me special summon any level 6 or higher monster from my hand to the field. You should be worried, especially since I'm summoning my Twin Mages!"   
  
The duel was just about to reach what seemed to be the final stage. The stage was set for whatever deadly or strange monster Lucas could send out, specifically his rarest card, the Twin Mages. Any defense monster Drake played could be destroyed and Drake would lose life points for it, and any equip card Lucas played on his monsters would effect both their stats, no matter what the card said. To make it worse, every turn Lucas could check the card on the top of Drake's deck and then replace it.   
  
"Now be prepared to witness the power of my rarest card, Twin Mages!" He slammed the card down on the duel disc and from the card erupted the image of two small figures, both in brown robes covering their entire bodies. Neither one's face was visible, but twin yellow eyes glowed beneath the hoods. One was shorter then the other.   
  
But the real strange thing, were the stats that showed. Twin Mages registered as (1400-1400/1000-1000). And those stats made no sense whatsoever to Drake. No monster had stats set up like that. "What makes this monster so special that its so rare and yet so weak?"  
  
Lucas chuckled as he placed another card down on his field, bringing the total number of magic cards on his field to four. Then he checked Drake's top card and replaced it. "Oh its far from weak. In fact its damned near impossible to beat. Especially since I'm powering it up with the Book of Secret Arts."  
  
Twin Mages(1700-1700/1300-1300)  
  
Drake shook his head in wonder. "I still don't understand, it still isn't powerful enough to defeat my Dark Magician...so why is it so rare?"  
  
Lucas began to laugh, quietly at first but soon growing into a full belly laugh, resounding far and wide. "The effect is what gives it such strength. The Twin Mages count as two monsters when it comes to tributes and their attack power is separate, but by sacrificing one card from my hand or deck I can combine their attack or defense points for one mighty strike! Now I'll do so to destroy your puny magician, Twin Magic Attack!"  
  
Drake cried out as a beam of light seared into his eyes, blinding him momentarily. When he was able to see again only smoke remained where his Dark Magician had once stood, and Drake's life points had payed the price.  
  
Lucas: 1245  
  
Drake: 1039  
  
And as it suddenly became Drake's turn, he knew that he had only one way to keep from losing this duel right here and now. But even that wasn't much of a chance. "One monster in reverse defense mode, and then I play Swords of Revealing Light!"  
  
Lucas drew and then added the card to his hand, but he grimaced at his hand as if it were the worst hand ever. "I play Resurrect to special summon Spinning Top of Doom from my graveyard and then sacrifice it for Blubber Force Soldier(2300/1100). That ends my turn, at least after I check your next card."  
  
Lucas: 1145  
  
There was no room for mistakes in this duel, and Drake had to make this next move count. And he was fairly certain that it would. He drew his next card and smirked when he saw Graceful Charity, that must have pissed Lucas off when he saw it. "Lucas, you shouldn't have kept checking my cards, its going to cost you the duel."  
  
"Oh shut up and make your move so I can end this."  
  
Drake used the Graceful Charity first. "I use Graceful Charity to draw three more cards, but I have to discard two of them. Watch and learn as I revive the Dark Magician with Monster Reborn! Now I flip my defense monster, Magician of Faith, and I recover Megamorph, which I now equip to the Dark Magician to double his stats a second time!"   
  
Lucas' dropped to his knees and closed his eyes as the Dark Magician raised his wand for one final strike. For the last time in the duel, the field inverted colors, and Twin Mages was annihilated under the stream of raw power.  
  
Lucas: 0  
  
"Damn you! How could you possibly have that much luck? I had this thing won, I'm the best duelist in all of Germany, I can't lose to some Japanese nobody!"  
  
Drake shook his head and sighed, deactivating the projectors and reattaching them. "You shouldn't assume things about your opponents. I'm not a nobody, I'm Drake Ihachi, and I'm going all the way to the top in this tournament. So hand over the Twin Mages and your Locater card."  
  
Drake grinned at last as his defeated opponent, the best duelist in all of Germany, handed over his rarest card and his locater card. All Drake had to do now was get four more cards and then he'd be on his way to the finals. As he walked away Drake was unaware that he was far from the only person to be certain of his rise to the top, such was the way of duelists.  
  
***********************************  
  
He walked the city alone, unchallenged, untouchable. He was a god. Nothing could challenge his great skill and his incredible powers. And yet at the same time he was alone, afraid, and unready. He was just a boy who liked a game, whose skill was nothing fantastic and powers nonexistent. He was both at the same time, and yet neither. He was Taichi Nobuki and yet something else entirely.   
  
But one thing was for certain. The first duelist who challenged him, would lose their rarest card and locater card. He couldn't wait to see what sort of fool would challenge him first. And he got his wish. "Hey kid! You look like your trying to find an opponent, I figure we could give each other a warm-up. I haven't dueled anyone else yet and it doesn't look like you have either."  
  
Taichi hid his smile as he turned to face the taller boy who was addressing him. Yet another fool. The best part was that nobody was around to see what would happen. "I'll duel you, but I've only got one locater card to put up."  
  
"That's fine, same here. My rarest card just happens to be the unstoppable Undefeated General. What about you?"  
  
Taichi once more hid his smile, oh he knew what the Kaiba corp. system said his rarest card was. Of course that wasn't true. Not with his deck it wasn't. "The Firewing Pegasus." The big fool grinned and raised his arm, launching his projectors, Taichi did the same. Both counters rose to 4000 and the duel was on.   
  
"I'll take the first turn," Taichi drew and let his magic flow. He didn't even glance at the card he had drawn, he simply layed down two cards and played Cannon Soldier in attack mode. "That's all."  
  
His opponent drew and surveyed his hand, then began laughing. "That little thing is about to lose you a lot of life points, bad first move kid. I'll set down Wyvern Warrior(1500/1200) in attack mode and play Gaia Power. Boosted Wyvern Warrior(2000/800) is taking down your soldier."  
  
The almost snake like lizard creature, powered because of its Earth type by Gaia Power, charged at Cannon Soldier to destroy it. "I activate Reverse Trap and Mask of Loss. Wyvern Warrior drops to 1000 attack and Cannon Soldier raises to 2100." With a set of blasts from the cannons on the monster's shoulders, Wyvern Warrior was destroyed.  
  
Earth deck guy: 2900  
  
Taichi smirked and drew again. "I'm about to end the duel right here. I play Scapegoat, creating four goat tokens. I will sacrifice each of them to Cannon Soldier's effect, dealing 2000 life points damage to you."   
  
Earth deck guy: 900  
  
"Now watch the end as I attack you directly with Cannon Soldier!" His opponent handed him the locater card and that finished up his part. Of course there was one last thing left to do. "I've got a truly rare card that I want you to see, just because of the good fight you put up." The larger boy obviously thought he was being insulted, but was willing to endure it to see what kind of card Taichi had.  
  
Taichi slipped the card out and held it up to show it. "But its blank."   
  
There was a flash of light and Taichi walked away, once more alone...or maybe not so alone. "Not anymore."   
  
************************  
  
A few hours later Hinata and her accomplice into an alley where they had seen Ryu disappear into a few seconds ago. As they turned the corner, they saw the last diminishing seconds of a duel as a Jirai Gumo attached with a Megamorph attacked an opponent's life points directly, the sign of a very short battle. The duelist fell to the floor as Ryu walked over to him, pulling him up by his coat, "Tell me where my card is. Now!"  
  
Hinata walked over to him as Dalin walked to take a stairwell to the top of a building, looking down at the alley. When Hinata got close enough, she reached out and put her hand on his shoulder, "Ryu?"  
  
Startled, he turned around, dropping the Rare Hunter to the ground. He then realized who the intruder was, "I thought I told you to stay at my place."  
  
"Yeah, I'd really stay there and worry about you."  
  
Ryu turned back to the Rare Hunter who was still on the ground, "Where is it?" The man began to smirk and Hinata tapped Ryu on the shoulder. When he looked at her, she pointed to a similarly dressed person, holding a giant sword. Ryu threw down the Rare Hunter, who was instantly knocked out, to face the other one. Things just getting better and better...  
  
________________________________________  
  
Next Time: As Ryu, Dalin, and Hinata face off against the Rare Hunter Drake enters into a duel against an opponent that he has been hoping to duel against for some time... 


	7. Rematch

Disclaimer: *Sigh* Nope, no Yu-gi-oh ownership for me.  
  
Chapter Six: Rematch  
  
The day had barely gone by and Drake had two locater cards. On the other hand he wasn't willing to face just any duelist to get his locater cards, he had to prove to himself that he was as good as he hoped, and to do that he had to defeat only the best duelists. "Damnit, at this rate I'll never find a good duel and get another locater card!"  
  
"Check it out! Some chick is facing Panick in a duel!"  
  
Drake stopped in his tracks to glance over at the kid who was shouting to a couple of his friends, each of them was wearing duel discs. Panick was a familiar name to Drake, but he wasn't quite sure why. "Might as well check it out." Drake rushed over and pushed his way through the crowd to get a good look. What he saw made him realize a couple of things. The first was that Panick had been one of the Eliminators at Duelist Kingdom, and second that the chick the guy had been talking about was none other then Mai Valentine!   
  
"Oh come on Panick. You're dueling just like you did at Duelist Kingdom, you haven't improved at all. Which means you don't stand a chance here. Without your scare tactics you couldn't beat a beginner at dueling."  
  
"We'll see about that! I was too much for you before and I will be now! Besides, I've already got a full field of monsters and all you've got is that pathetic harpy. Once your turn is over I'll crush your harpy and go in for a full scale assault to finish you off!"  
  
Mai scoffed at that and brushed her hair out of her eyes staring hautily at the much larger Panick. "Oh come on, even broadcasting your strategy? How could you possibly hope to win any duels like that?"  
  
"I'll show you!"  
  
"Whatever. I'll just make it costly for you to have those monsters by playing Just Desserts. Of course that puts you down to 700 life points doesn't it? I suppose I can summon one monster in defense mode and switch Harpy Lady to defense mode. Then I'll just have to put these cards face down and end my turn."   
  
"I'll attack with my two strongest monsters, neither of which you can see, and destroy your puny monsters. Then I'll attack directly!" But to Panick's surprise his two monsters were destroyed. "What happened?"  
  
"My Counter Machine-Gun Punch happened, instead of my monster being destroyed, yours were."  
  
"I'll attack with the rest of my monsters!"  
  
"And finish yourself off thanks to Mirror Force." The attacks were reflected back at Panick's monsters, destroying them.   
  
"Now I play Monster Reborn to revive the card I had to remove from my hand earlier, Harpy's Pet Dragon and I attack directly!" With a burst of flame Panick was defeated and forced by Mai and those around her to give up his rarest card and locater card. "Easy pickings."  
  
"Just as good as always Mai. But can you do that against someone better then him?" She turned to see who was addressing her, and the crowd moved back from Drake, apparently thinking he was crazy to be challenging someone as well known and skilled as Mai Valentine, or maybe they were just make room for the duel.   
  
"Back for another beating Drake? Didn't you learn your lesson last time?"  
  
"I know just how you duel Mai, and my defeat at your hands made me think long and hard about my strategy and my deck. And I've improved quite a bit thanks to you. Losing to you was a learning experience, and I'm about to find out whether I learned enough to beat you."  
  
"Well you sound like your willing to risk losing just to prove to yourself that you've improved. But I don't intend to humor you, expect me to duel hard because I know how you duel as well."  
  
"Ladies first Mai."  
  
Mai: 4000  
  
Drake: 4000  
  
"Sure, and I'll summon Amazon Archess(1400/1200) in attack mode, and place one card face down. Your turn kiddo."  
  
"Amazon? I guess you have changed your deck a little bit, but I know your going by the same strategy as before. I'll just put a monster in reverse defense mode, and put one card face down. Then I'll finish my turn by placing Power Stone of Darkness on the field, and using its effect."   
  
A dark stone appeared on his field near the two other floating cards, and above it was three shimmering spheres. One suddenly vanished. "Whats that things effect?"  
  
"You'll have to find out for yourself."  
  
"Alright, but I know your strategy, and I know that the monster you placed definetely has a weak attack. So I'll summon Amazon Pet Tiger(1100/150), it might seem weak but it gets 400 attack points for every card with the name Amazon attached to it on the field bringing it up to 1500. Plus it has to be destroyed before you can destroy any of my other Amazon cards. Then I play Shadow of Eyes, which will force your monster to attack next turn."  
  
Drake shrugged as it became his turn and then let his monster be switched to attack mode. His monster was revealed as Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) who had two magic counters floating above him. "I'll use my stone's effect again, and of course I'll tribute my magician and all three of its magic counters to summon Dark Magician(2500/2100), my second strongest monster! Dark Magician, destroy that tiger!"   
  
His mighty magician charged in and slashed through the tiger with his staff, destroying it and a good deal of Mai's life points. Now the magician and his magic dominated the field, making Mai's female monsters look puny. 'This a fantastic start! Dark Magician so soon in the duel! I've got this duel in the bag for sure!'  
  
Mai: 3000  
  
"That was a good start kiddo, but now I'm gonna have to push the duel up a notch. I tribute my archess to summon Harpy's Pet Dragon in attack mode, and set one card face down on the field. And you're going to be forced to attack next turn."  
  
Drake was wary of the card she had placed face down, but not overly wary. If she sent the attack back at him he'd just activate the card he was about to put down. "I'll summon Neo the Magic Swordsman(1700/1000) and play one card face down. Sadly my monsters are forced to attack, starting with my magician."   
  
His swordsman charged in and swung his sword to strike down the dragon, and struck something which showed a mirror image of his spellcaster and the attack didn't go through, in fact when his magician stumbled back, and soon after Neo, both's attack began to drop. "What's happening?"  
  
"My Mirror Wall reflects their attacks and cuts their attack power in half. Dropping Dark Magician to 1250 and Neo to 850."  
  
"All I can do is end my turn."   
  
"Good, I'll pay the 1000 life point cost to maintain my Mirror Wall, and nowe now I summon Harpy Lady, and play Elegant Egotist to triple her into the Harpy Lady Sisters. And of course my dragon gets 300 attack points for each of my harpies, sending its attack climbing to 2900! Destroy Neo!"  
  
Drake's eyes widened as the large dragon opened its mouth and unleashed a seathing gout of flame, that was heading straight for his weakened Neo! The massive flame of Harpy's Pet Dragon bore down upon the swordsman ready to incinerate it and Drake's life points. And crashed directly into three singing robed men. And no damage was done. "Waboku stops your attack. Looks like he's safe for now. Especially since after you've used Elegant Egotist your harpies can't attack. At least until next turn."  
  
Mai: 2000  
  
"Fine, I'll end my turn by placing this card face down." Drake nodded and drew his next card. 'Come on and give me something to get rid of that Mirror Wall! Heavy Storm, Mystical Space Typhoon, Despell, anything!' And he flipped his card up to view it, when he did a grin spread across his face.   
  
"Ha! I'll tribute both of my monster to summon my strongest attacker, Omegus(3500/3200). What makes it even better is that traps don't effect Omegus. I'll attack your dragon since I have to destroy it before destroying your harpies." Omegus charged across the field and straight at where the Mirror Wall would appear, and with a single slice decapitated the dragon.  
  
Mai: 1400  
  
"Here we go...I'll play Fissure to destroy Omegus, and equip the sisters with Cyber Shield raising their combined attack to 2450. Attack him directly! I've decided I'm gonna risk Mirror Wall for one more turn, so I pay the life points." Drake groaned as the earth swallowed his favorite monster, and the triplets blew a gust of wind at him that knocked him on his back and smashed through his life points.  
  
Mai: 400   
  
Drake: 1550  
  
****************************  
  
He walked slowly toward the two as Dalin watched on from the top of the small building. Ryu pulled out his knife, "Hinata, get out of here now."  
  
"Hell no! We're both escaping alive," she replied as she brandished her shinai (bamboo sword).  
  
Ryu turned back to the current threat. He was too frustrated to go on with trying to tell Hinata to stay away. The figure loomed closer and closer, then he raised his sword above his head, ready to bring it down on Ryu. The cold steel was brought down, meeting with concrete as Ryu sidestepped out of the way, "Isn't that a little...limited?"  
  
The attacker sneered and lifted his sword for another blow which was again easily dodged. Realizing that Ryu was too fast for such a heavy weapon, he pulled out a smaller blade, a tai-chi sword.  
  
Ryu's knife was smaller, but he was confident that it wouldn't make a difference. The Rare Hunter raised it and brought it down in a split second but Ryu blocked it with his knife. Sparks flew as the two pieces of metal clanged together at incredible force, "That all you got? Malik should have sent a few more of you guys."  
  
"That can be arranged," the attacker released a flurry of attacks that were barely visible. Ryu dodged all but one which hit his arm, cutting a deep gash in it. Hinata cringed as she saw Ryu's crimson blood flow freely from the open wound. She was too scared to do anything but stand there and watch. Ryu on the other hand shook it off right away as if he didn't feel any pain, but he clutched it so that he wouldn't feel faint from blood loss.  
  
Again, a hail of attacks were released and since Ryu's arm made him slower his reactions were also slowed down, letting the hunter's weapon connect three more times, inflicting shallow but painful cuts. Hinata couldn't take it anymore, she took out her shinai and rushed toward the Rare Hunter.  
  
He noticed this and turned around to face the young girl. She raised it to execute a Tsuki attack, a thrust to the neck. After it hit she spun and slashed at the neck, causing him to fall to the side a little. He got back up with surprising ease and delivered a punch that knocked her out.  
  
Seeing this, Dalin decided to buy Ryu a little time, he quickly came down from the building and was instantly attacked. The Rare Hunter stabbed at Dalin's chest but the muscular man managed to sidestep in time. He snapped his hand out, grabbing the hunter's wrist and squeezed it, agitating the pressure points. The sword clattered to the ground.  
  
After pulling his wrist back, the hunter punched Dalin in the chest. Dalin's spiky blond hair bounced from the impact, but he remained standing and delivered a powerful blow to the Rare Hunter's stomach, doubling him over. By now Ryu had slowed the flow of blood in his arms and got up, "I'll take it from here." Dalin nodded and stepped aside, allowing Ryu to continue his battle. This had become personal.   
  
Ryu was angry by now; the Rare Hunter had probably given Hinata a concussion and had actually out-maneuvered him. Again, Ryu brandished his knife and stabbed at the attacker's chest, but he turned and it was stabbed into his shoulder. Ryu then twisted it mercilessly, increasing the pain by ten fold. After pulling it back out, he pushed the attacker back who keeled over, hitting the ground with a loud thump.  
  
The Rare Hunter somehow managed to pull himself up and rushed at Ryu, ready to impale him with the sword. Ryu just stood there for a second then threw his knife. It flew through the air and cut through the skin on the Rare Hunter's forehead, then through the skull, and finally it impaled the brain. He was dead before he hit the ground.  
  
He then turned to Dalin, "Thanks."  
  
"No problem," he replied. He then walked off to watch from a distance. He watched as Ryu lifted the original Rare Hunter by his robe, "Ready to tell me where my card is?"  
  
"Yea...sure...just please...don't kill me," he begged. Ryu smirked at the terror he had caused the man, "It's..."  
  
****************************  
  
  
  
He wasn't exactly left with much choice. He drew and sighed when he saw what it was. Thank god for his luck...or maybe it was for his Millenium Item's power. Either way he had a move he could make. "I set a monster face down, but he is instantly flipped into attack mode thanks to Shadow of Eyes, and he's the Vindictive Magician who when flipped lets me select a monster and destroy it. I choose your sisters. I set a card and end my turn, after Vindictive Magician attacks and is reduced to 225."  
  
Mai sighed and layed her card down. "I summon Amazon Swordswoman(1500/1200) and attack your Vindictive Magician." The woman's blade sliced through the old wizard with ease, and nearly finished Drake off.  
  
Drake: 225  
  
He took a deep breath and drew his next card. "Mai...its over. I summon Apprenticeship Magician and equip him with the card that nearly cost you the duel the last time. Wizard Mentor, which allows me to raise him to another level of spellcaster, and I'm going all the way to the Dark Sage(2800/3200)." A spellcaster dressed in blue clothing was bathed in an intense light, and when it cleared the black robed monster floated on Drake's side.   
  
"Dark Magic Attack!"  
  
****************************  
  
The man's words were cut off as a two toned voice replace the original one, "Ryu Shigeru...you would have made a great Rare Hunter. You can kill without feeling, take without guilt. How about joining us?"  
  
"Why do you think that? And, by the way, there's no way, I'll join you bastards." asked Ryu.  
  
"You killed one of my men...and smiled when you were done. I think that maybe you enjoyed it," Ryu didn't reply, whoever this man speaking through the Rare Hunter was, the truth was that he was right, "If you want your card back, show up at the Battle Ship later tonight, at the tournament finals." When he was done speaking the voice disintegrated and the Rare Hunter collapsed into a heap. Ryu felt for a pulse, there was none. After putting the man back down, Ryu walked over to where Hinata was currently laying unconscious. He lifted her up and started off, back to his apartment as Dalin followed.   
  
Dalin was impressed by the way the man had fought. However he had been surprised to hear Malik's voice coming from that man. How could Malik have control over the man and why did he? Somehow he knew the reason for the how. An image hidden deep within his mind. A golden rod with an eye on the top. The Millennium Rod. And he could sense something similar to that power from this man called Ryu. But it was weaker.  
  
Malik's words came back to him then, though he knew not why. "Find him and defeat him and all your questions shall be answered. Within the Shadow Realm do your answers lie, only there with the puzzle in your grasp can your memory be returned to you. And when your memory returns I ask only one thing, that you give me the puzzle."   
  
"Why do you want the puzzle?"  
  
"So that I can help my sister who has lost her memory."  
  
"Why not simply ask this man to let you use the puzzle?"  
  
"He would not, for he is an arrogant and selfish excuse for a human being and the only one who stands between me and returning my sisters memory."  
  
"I will defeat this man then, and claim his puzzle, for your sister if nothing else."  
  
That was when the name returned to him, he remembered now. "Tell me a few things Ryu, what do you know about the Shadow Realm and a man named Yugi Motou?"  
  
**************************  
  
Drake accepted the three cards and looked at Mirror Wall with joy. The ultimate trap, and it was his. Then he made a decision. "Mai...I beat you once, and you've beaten me once. But my loss to you made me realize quite a few things, and during the time I had over the past week I did a huge revamp to my deck, some of it based around things I learned dueling you. I'd never have beaten you without the experience I gained losing to you, and I wouldn't feel like I deserved to have won unless I gave you the chance at a rematch. Here, take this."  
  
Drake extended her second locater card and smiled. Mai on the other hand didn't look to happy, she turned away, putting her back to him and spoke in offended tones. "I'm not going to take your charity."  
  
"Not charity, think of it as a friendly gift. It just wouldn't be a duel monsters tournament unless Mai Valentine was at the finals. Catch ya later!" He turned and walked off, her only response was to hold on to the card and smile.   
  
"That kid reminds me of Joey...but if he keeps being charitable like that he could end up losing more then he expected."  
  
******************************  
  
"I'll crush your freakish Firewing Pegasus right now! Millennium Prehistoric Man destroy that messed up monster!" The brutish creature charged across the field and swung his weapon to destroy the goofy looking winged horse, but at the last moment the Pegasus' body arched to the side to avoid the blow.   
  
"Normal monsters can't attack toons like that. So as long as Toon World is in play, you can't even hurt me. I on the other hand can crush you."  
  
"The card isn't even fair! Its way to powerful!"  
  
Taichi Nobuki merely shrugged and drew his next card. "This should interest you. Because I'm ending the duel. I'll play Snatch Steal to take your monster, and then attack with both!" A giant brown bag covered the brutish monster and pulled him to Taichi's side of the field. The young duelist smirked as both monsters blasted his opponent's life points apart.   
  
The duelist shoved the cards at him and turned away, obviously upset that he had lost in just four turns. And of course that he was out of the tournament. "Don't worry about being eliminated from the tournament. You won't be worrying about much anymore since I'll be inflicting Game Punishment now."  
  
"What are you talking about?"  
  
Taichi held up one blank card and reached deep within himself to the power he possessed, and unleashed it. There was a blinding flash of light, and then the duelist collapsed to the ground. Taichi turned on his heels, more then a dozen locater cards in hand, and slipped the new cards into his pocket. Now it was about time to head to the tournament final's location. Everything was falling into place.  
  
************************  
  
Seto Kaiba was busy doing what all rich arrogant bastards do, pissing people off with his huge ego. But a sudden call interrupted him. "Mr. Kaiba, we have to inform you of something."  
  
"Is it a God card? Has one of them been played?" The eagerness in his voice was overly obvious, but his inferiors knew better then to mention that he sounded almost like a little boy waiting for a treat.  
  
"No sir, but we believe this will be as interesting to you."  
  
"Spit it out already, I don't have all day."  
  
"The card Toon World has been played by a duelist named Taichi Nobuki." There was silence for at least a minute as Kaiba was pulled into a flashback of his duel with Pegasus when the Toon World card had caused his defeat. The only Toon World in existance, which meant this Taichi Nobuki might have Pegasus' deck somehow.   
  
"Tell me where he is."  
  
*****************************  
  
The information that Ryu had provided him allowed an incredible tide of memories, a tide of memories that gave him sudden insight into his own power. Reaching out with that power he located the link between Ryu and his Blue Eyes, and then forced that link to become visible to him. A chain of energy that would lead him straight to the card. "Ryu, follow me and I can lead you to the Blue Eyes."  
  
"Are you sure? Don't mess around about this sort of thing." Dalin merely nodded and started walking, a few moments later Ryu began to follow him. Their positions had been reversed with astounding speed. They walked on after a little while he spoke up again, "How come you weren't scared of being killed?"  
  
"You weren't either."  
  
Dalin shrugged it off, "That's because I thought that if I bought you some time, you would be able to take over again," he stated.  
  
"When I was in the first gang, I think I was around nine or ten, the gang leader told me something after I got scared and messed up a hit," explained Ryu, "We shouldn't be scared of death...it's always with us...when we show fear of it, it jumps at us, faster than light...if we don't show fear, it would gently cast its eye upon us. And guides us all...to infinity..."  
  
Dalin took it all in. It was true, if someone fears death, they will die the final death, but if they aren't scared, it would be as if they were immortal, "That's it? One phrase gave you all that courage?"  
  
"I've also lost everything; my family, my friends, my life...everything. And without all that, everything has lost all meaning," replied Ryu as he shifted Hinata so that she'd be easier to carry.  
  
"You still have her," replied Dalin as he motioned toward Hinata.   
  
Ryu slightly laughed ever so slightly, still trying to not disturb her sleep, unnatural though it might be. "Yeah, I guess. Always wondered what it'd be like to have a little sister, guess now I know."   
  
Little did he know that Hinata had woken up a little after Ryu told Dalin about what his first gang leader told him, "I can't believe he thinks of me as his little sister..."  
  
Dalin was now unsure of exactly what he should believe. Malik had spoken through that man, and his words to Ryu had been rather odd. They did not seem like the Malik he had met, not at all. The Malik he had met, the Malik who had found him in the middle of the desert had been very kind, not ruthless and cold sounding the way the one they had heard was.   
  
And then there was Yugi Moto, the big question in the whole situation. The King of Games, Yu-gi-oh, a title that seemed strangely familiar to Dalin, not simply because of the knowledge he had gained from Ryu, but because of something else. He was almost afraid that soon enough all his questions would be answered.   
  
___________________________________________  
  
Next Time: Several of our characters find themselves coming together in one place at the same time a dangerous duel is waged, forcing Drake to deal with the results of opening the Gates of Chaos... 


	8. Gates of Chaos

Disclaimer: Stopping hounding me already! I don't own Yu-gi-oh! I can't even manage to get an ownership deed for my computer! Sheesh...   
  
Chapter Seven: The Gates of Chaos  
  
Taichi Nobuki stopped walking at the sound of a helicopter came from overhead. He smiled ever so slightly at the wonderful sound, a sound that meant he had been correct in assuming that every card he played would be tracked by Kaiba corp. He didn't know Seto Kaiba, but he knew how the CEO's brain worked, and that was more then enough.   
  
The helicopter lowered itself enough for Seto Kaiba to descend from it on a rope ladder. He was carrying a brief case in one hand and his Duel Disk 2 was attached to the other. Mokuba Kaiba sat in the helicopter, awaiting his brother's business to be finished. "Are you Taichi Nobuki?"  
  
Taichi smiled and inclined his head in greeting. Just because he was going to use the CEO, didn't mean he had to be rude to him...yet. "Yes. That's my name, but what would someone as important as yourself want with someone as insignificant as me?"  
  
Kaiba's ice blue eyes pitifully attempted to search for some sign of fear within his own eyes, but there was no fear to be found. Fear was for the weak, and he was far from weak. "We tracked you using Toon World, a card that only one man owns, Maximilian Pegasus. Tell me, how did you gain possession of it?"  
  
Taichi gave no outward response, but inside he was grinning. His ploy had worked perfectly, and now Kaiba was right in front of him, giving him the perfect chance to take Obelisk and be one step closer to accomplishing his goal. He smirked and drew a card at random from his deck, slowly he held it up for Kaiba to see. "This card? Yes I do own it, but I've got plenty of other cards that Pegasus owned, not just Toon World."  
  
Kaiba frowned and came closer, so that he was practically staring down his nose at the shorter Taichi. A pathetic attempt at intimidation, one that would probably have worked...on a mortal. "You stole his deck?"  
  
"No, I had Croquet deliver it to me."  
  
"Pegasus' assistant? Why would he deliver it to you?"  
  
Taichi smirked ever so slightly and shrugged his shoulders. "Possibly because I am the Pro Tem CEO of the company."  
  
"You? Impossible!" A similar gasp of surprise could be heard from above coming from Mokuba. They acted like it was such a ridiculous statement, but he didn't see anything funny about it. Nothing at all.   
  
Taichi merely shrugged his shoulders once more, and began to reach into his pocket for another blank card, and into his spirit for the necessary magic. "Anything is possible. You should realize that. Oh yes, I should say this now while I have the chance."  
  
"And what might that be?"  
  
"I challenge you to a duel 'Kaiba-boy'." Taichi laughed inwardly at Kaiba's furious expression upon the use of the annoying name Pegasus had always given Kaiba. From what he knew of the man, Pegasus had addressed virtually everyone younger then him in such a manner.   
  
"You're not worth the time, if you do show up at the finals, I'll crush you there and then tear that Toon World card apart. Something like that shouldn't exist," Kaiba grabbed hold of the rope ladder and was pulled up off the ground, he smirked down at Taichi as he flew off. "See you at the finals loser."  
  
"Coward!" Once more Taichi was smiling, but on the inside. Maybe things would work out easier then he had expected. Kaiba was so predictable it was astounding, and putting Obelisk in the hands of a fool like him was the perfect trap. Kaiba was skilled enough as a duelist that he was almost certain to be a semi-finalist, if not one of the two finalists. All that mattered was his god card, the rest of his deck was of no consequence. Laughing hysterically Taichi started walking again, this time with a destination in mind.   
  
*****************************  
  
Isis Ishtar had collapsed in the middle of a tour of the Ancient Egypt exhibit roughly thirty minutes earlier. She had been rushed to a medical ward so that she could be cared for, but by the time they got there, she had already recovered. The doctors decided that she had fainted because of the heat, and suggested that she return to wherever she was staying and get some rest. She accepted their judgement, thanked them, and immediately headed out into Battle City to gain the necessary six locator cards.   
  
She had not fainted because of heat exhaustion, she had seen the future, and the future was far worse then she had anticipated. Her brother had made a decision that could rip the entire universe apart, and unless she did something to stop her vision from coming true, the entire universe would pay the price of her failure. She had seen the future, and what had so frightened her so much that she lost consciousness was the simple fact that there no longer was a future.   
  
In two days all life would cease to exist.  
  
******************************  
  
"What do you know. If it isn't Drake Ihachi, the little punk from Duelist Kingdom." Drake couldn't help but sigh, it wasn't everyday you ran into one of the people you wouldn't have preferred to run into, someone who was bound to want a rematch. But this was a tournament for the most skilled duelists, and he was bound to run into him, besides, Drake had already run into someone who he had wanted a rematch against, it seemed fate had decided to give the same option to the other duelist.   
  
"Kensai...interesting to run into you here. I thought this was a tournament for skilled duelists." Drake smirked and cracked his neck, turning to face the older boy. He grimaced when he saw Kensai wearing the exact same kind of gi that had been wearing during Duelist Kingdom. Didn't this guy have anything else to wear?  
  
The tall dark haired boy rolled his eyes and held up three locator cards. "My deck is a hell of a lot better then it was at Duelist Kingdom, and I've already got three locator cards. Just because I lost last time doesn't mean things will go the same way this time around."  
  
"Yeah sure, but I've got three locator cards as well, and if you do duel me then that's risking everything you have. It means that the winner will be going to the finals." The two duelists eyed each other across a distance of only a dozen feet, the only thing that interuppted the silence that permeated the air between them was the clank of the duel disks locking into place and launching their projectors.   
  
"I wouldn't have it any other way."  
  
Kensai: 4000  
  
Drake: 4000  
  
A couple of things ran through Drake's mind as he gazed into the fierce eyes of his competition. The first was exactly what he had thought the first time he had met Kensai. How dangerous was he exactly? The second was similar to his first thoughts on such a matter, except instead of wondering what kind of deck he was using, it was wondering what changes he had made to his deck.   
  
"Since you lost the last duel you get to decide who starts this one."  
  
Kensai smirked and drew six cards, obviously to show that he would be going first. "What do you know, nice first hand. I'll discard two monsters to activate the ritual card Commencement to Dance to summon Performance of Sword(1950/1850), and lay one card face down." Now the woman with long red hair stood upon the field, hair flowing about her body, sword held high, and one card floating behind her.   
  
The move confused Drake, it didn't seem possible that this move could have been made, not that the move was impossible, just unlikely. 'This is the same first move from our last duel. How could that have happened?' Shrugging it off Drake drew his opening hand and prepared himself for a potentially rigorous duel.   
  
"Performance of Sword might match your likings for fighting monsters, but its power won't save you from my deck. Its even more powerful then it was last time we dueled."  
  
Drake drew and added the card to his hand, he knew that he didn't have any monster he could summon straight of the bat that was capable of destroying Performance of Sword in one strike, so he would have to settle with defense. "I'll set a monster in reverse defense mode and the card Mass Driver, I'll finish my turn by playing Dian Keto the Cure Master."  
  
Drake: 5000  
  
Kensai smirked completely aware that the power of his first monster was simply to great for anything Drake could summon in his first turn. He had the current advantage, and he wasn't going to waste it. "Defense as usual, well it won't do you much good. I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards, bringing my total back to five. I toss away two more monsters to use the ritual card Turtle Oath I placed down last turn, and you know what that summons." On his second turn Kensai had already managed to summon what had been his strongest monster in their last duel, Crab Turtle(2550/2500), a distorted looking crab-like creature that was incredibly dangerous.   
  
"I'll attack your face down monster with Performance of Sword, to leave the way open for Crab Turtle to attack your life points directly. Whirlwind Blade Technique!"   
  
The blade wielding woman began spinning and came crashing down on his defense monster blades extended, and revealed an old looking magician in yellow armor holding himself erect with his staff. He snarled and thrust one hand out. "Vindictive Old Magician, its flip effect is to destroy one of your monsters. And I choose Crab Turtle."  
  
The turtle monster exploded and the old magician faded off the field. Kensai groaned, unable to attack he was forced to end his turn. "I end my turn."   
  
Drake drew and grinned. One of the coolest looking cards he owned, at least in his opinion, was about to get a boost. "I'll summon the ultra-rare Breaker Mage(1600/1000) which automatically gains a magic counter upon its summoning, raising its attack to 1900. Then I equip it with Big Bang Shot, raising its attack by another 400. Attack his Performance of Sword!" The knight-like Spell caster, with his shield, sword, and scarlet robes, charged across the field and sliced through Kensai's Performance of Sword, leaving the field open to Drake, and the beginning lead in his hands.   
  
Kensai: 3650  
  
"This is just the beginning to the duel Drake, it'll only get harder. So don't think that I'm easy prey. You might be in the lead but its by a small margin, and that can change quickly. No matter how good you think you are I will prevail in the end."   
  
"Just duel, save the theatrics and your tough guy act for someone who's impressed by it."  
  
*****************************  
  
Bandit Keith cried out as his opponent removed two more magic counters from her Marionette Magician to destroy his Barrel Dragon, allowing her to attack directly with it powered up to 4000 by an insane combo she had used. He had cheated his way to the top only to have his position cut out from under him by some freaky girl with some sort of multiple personality disorder. His life was starting to seriously suck.   
  
He was just about to make his move and pull his gun on her, to make sure that he was the winner of the duel, despite what the rules said, when the girl materialized a golden staff out of nowhere. "If you even try to attack me with your pitiful mortal weapon I will rip your soul from your body and let it rot forever in the Shadow Realm!"   
  
He groaned as he was knocked backwards by some kind of invisible force. Snarling he tossed his Barrel Dragon and locator cards on the ground, and fled as fast as he was able. He had seen enough of those damned eyes to know not to mess with that kind of person. Whether it be Yugi Motou, Pegasus, or that freak who had taken over his mind and forced him into a duel with Yugi. It just wasn't worth his time to try and fight someone with those sorts of powers. Especially when that person suddenly became a trash talking bitch in the middle of the duel and tore him a figurative new one. He hadn't seen dueling techniques like hers ever, and he was the Intercontinental Champion!  
  
Far behind him Autumn Kurai reverted to her normal self, abandoning Misuno's control. She had let her yami take over when AB noticed Bandit Keith pulling cards from underneath his armbands. It had payed off well enough, allowing her to win the duel and get the last few locator cards she needed for the finals. She was good enough, but she just seemed to have better luck in getting the right cards at the right time when Misuno or AB was in control.   
  
Sighing she set the locator cards into the duel disk and watched calmly as the holographic image appeared, and gave her direction to the Battle City finals. She just wished AB would stop acting like the end of the world was coming.  
  
************************  
  
"Theatrics aside I'm being honest when I say I know a way to utterly defeat you. And that way is like this. I'll summon Jinzo #7 in attack mode and lay down the card Gravity Bind, which means its impossible for any level four or higher monster to attack. Leaving you wide open for plenty of direct strikes by my android."  
  
Drake: 4500  
  
"Do you like my new monster? I put it and Gravity Bind in my deck just for you, knowing you wouldn't be able to stop it." He smirked at his sudden lead, despite its small size.   
  
Drake smirked right back at him. Despite his best efforts, Kensai was playing into his hands. "Looks like you're doing all the work for me in this duel. By removing a magic counter from Breaker Mage I can destroy one trap card on the field, and of course I choose Gravity Bind."  
  
"No! Not gravity bind!" Kensai couldn't do anything to stop Breaker Mage from shattering the green barrier that would have prevented him from attacking. Now all that was between Drake and Kensai's life points was a pathetically weak monster.   
  
"Sorry Kensai, but your dueling with me, and you never were up to my caliber. I'll tribute Breaker Mage for Chaos Magician(2400/1900). By sacrificing a monster I do 400 points of direct damage to your life points through Mass Driver's effect. Chaos Magician, annihilate his Jinzo #7!"  
  
Kensai: 1350  
  
Drake was certain that he is victory was assured, but Kensai's sudden laughter seemed to challenge that. "You're in for a big surprise, because I just drew my most powerful monster, and my favorite at that. Chaos Soldier-Messenger of Creation(3000/2500). To summon him I remove one light and one dark main-type monster from the graveyard and the game. He's the rare and powerful non-ritual version of the original Chaos Soldier, but he has something the other doesn't, two effects."  
  
"What effects?"   
  
"I can choose one of the two each turn, and for this turn the answer is obvious. I attack and destroy Chaos Magician!" The armored swordsman sliced through Chaos Magician like its body was made of butter. It had never stood a chance.  
  
Drake: 3900  
  
"Now I choose its second effect, that when it destroys a monster in battle, it can attack a second time during that turn!" There was nothing Drake could do to stop the path of Chaos Soldier's blade, and because of that his life points were cut into ribbons by the direct attack.  
  
Drake: 900  
  
"Damn! Where the hell did he come up with a monster like that. It makes the situation practically hopeless!" Drake felt his confidence slip away, shattering into pieces. He was going to lose to someone that he knew he was better then...it just didn't seem possible. "Don't give up Drake. If you beat me then you can certainly beat this arrogant punk."  
  
Drake whirled around in surprise to find Kirani standing there, her dark hair whipping in the wind. "Kirani?"  
  
*********************  
  
Taichi now stood in front of the secret location from where the Battle City finals would begin. But he had chosen to have one last duel, and that duel had ended quite well in his favor, as had every other duel he had participated in during this tournament.   
  
He held his two brand new cards up and smiled, slipping them into his deck. He would need to make quite a few adjustments to his deck to accomodate all the cards he was collecting. On the other hand the cards he had just gained were relatively unimportant. At least when compared to what he held in his other hand.  
  
A small circlet of gold, at a glance it did not appear to be that impressive, or worth all that much. But it was what was inside that mattered and made it worth all the trouble he had gone to. He smiled openely as he crushed it in his hand and felt a surge of power throughout his entire body.   
  
His eyes flashed with golden power and then faded, his smile changed to a cruel grin as it did. "Well what do you know? I never thought that the future would look that grim. So many dead people, so many attrocities. Its all so wonderful I could just cry. No future at all...its got to be the best bit of fortune telling I've ever seen!"   
  
And he walked on into the building, whistling a merry tune. Behind him a dark haired woman in egyptian garb lay on the ground, eyes staring blankly at the sky above. She had seen what would come, and had gone to stop it from happening, gone to stop him. It was rather amusing to think that someone would willingly walk into a situation where they knew that the ending would not be happy for themselves. Or for anyone else for that matter.   
  
Inside that building Kaiba awaited, and soon every other piece of the puzzle would be there. Kaiba was unimportant, Obelisk on the other hand was. "I'm off to see the wizard, the wonderful wizard of Oz! I'm off to see the wizard, because of the wonderful things he does! Because because because because...because of the wonderful things he does!"  
  
**************************  
  
"Its just around the corner, I'm sure of it, hurry if you don't want to miss the chance to reclaim your Blue Eyes!"  
  
Ryu didn't respond in words, he responded by quickening his pace as he followed Dalin through the city at a dead run. He would get his Blue Eyes back if it was the last thing he did!  
  
**************************  
  
"That's right. I've been looking for you, and how do I found you? Losing it while dueling this guy. You better not lose, because if you do then it's a disgrace to all the duelists you've beaten, including me. And of course you'll be a disgrace to all Rare Hunters, which I'm sure you don't want. So don't give up, don't lose hope even for an instant."  
  
"Kirani...you're right," He turned back to face Kensai who was still smirking arrogantly. He might have the superior monster at the moment, but it'd take more then just a powerful monster to beat him. "I refuse to give up. And you'll see just the kind of skill it takes to be a real duelist. Lets end this."   
  
Drake had long ago put his faith in his cards, gave them a heart that was part of his own. Each of the cards belonged to him in particular, and to win it would require giving the same heart the cards that he had won, cards that he had earned. He would show them the respect they deserved, and he would win!   
  
"All right Kensai, this duel is nearing its end. I set one card face down and Mystical Elf(800/2000) in defense mode."  
  
Kensai cocked an eyebrow, but after a little bit of thought decided not to bother commenting on Drake's own theatrics. He was claiming that he could win, but all he could do was defend, and as long as Kensai destroyed that monster he could attack a second time to finish the duel. "The duel is about to be over, but in my favor, not yours! Chaos Soldier attack his elf!"   
  
"I activate Mirror Wall!"  
  
Chaos Soldier's blade crossed path's with a mirror image of itself, and stopped it dead. The same trap that Mai had used so effectively against Drake he was now using to prevent his own defeat, and insure victory. Now all Drake had to do was manage to follow up and summon something more powerful then 1500 attack points.  
  
"Drake!"  
  
The two duelists turned in unison as an enraged seventeen year old barreled down the street towards them, a muscular blond haired man holding a girl in his arms standing a bit away. "Ryu?" The blow staggered him, sending him crashing into the pavement, blood trickling down his lip. Drake snarled and threw himself at the older boy's waist, knocking the other off his feet and sending him to the ground as well.   
  
The two wrestled each other, with Drake barely managed to come out on top because of his greater size and strength. Now pinning the older boy he began to rain blows down on him...up until he was kicked square in the jaw. Groaning Drake started to rise in order to defend himself against Ryu's next attack, but the three combatants, Ryu, himself, and the girl who had just kicked him in the chin, were stopped dead as the muscular man stepped in between them.   
  
"This is not the way to solve anyone's problems. Ryu, you can settle your problems with Drake after he finishes his duel, but not before. Hinata...now that you're awake you can keep an eye on Ryu, and make sure he doesn't do anything stupid."  
  
Drake spat blood on the ground and glared at the newcomer. Sure he had been in the middle of a duel, but he enjoyed a good fight just as much as a good duel. There wasn't any reason to get in the way. "Listen whoever you are, I don't need you to settle my problems for me. So just stay out of this."  
  
"I am Dalin Sumatin, and I have made it my business. I wish to assist Ryu, but I do not want anyone to be hurt in the process." A mighty roar pulled their attention to the side, where they found a mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon starring down at them.   
  
Kirani grinned as she deactivated her duel disk, causing the Blue Eyes to vanish. It had only been a hologram. " Break it up. I have it and we're going to duel for it. That is, if you're Ryu Shigeru."   
  
"I'll agree to it as long as it doesn't take place in the Shadow Realm," replied Ryu.  
  
  
  
Kirani closed her eyes and sighed. "I don't agree with Malik's methods, especially since recently he's been putting Rare Hunters in situations where failure means death, but I don't have much choice in the matter, it's the price I pay. If you win the duel then you get the Blue Eyes back, if I win you become whatever Malik wants you to be, you serve him."  
  
Ryu nodded in acceptance and shot one last glare at Drake before turning his full attention on Kirani, "Now if you'll follow me, we'll get this duel started." Hinata shot a glance over her shoulder at Drake, but finally made her decision and followed after Ryu and Kirani. Dalin remained off to the side, apart from everything.   
  
Drake rushed over and grabbed Kirani by the arm, stopping her exit. He leaned in close and whispered fiercely into her ear. "What in the hell are you doing? You're actually going through with what Malik wants? Why? If you lose then he'll banish you to the Shadow Realm. If you win then Malik wins, so either way things won't work out."  
  
Kirani closed her eyes and pulled away, her dark hair whipping across Drake's cheek, stinging him. "It's my decision. I know what I'm doing so please, don't interfere."  
  
She turned and began walking away, Ryu following. Drake let his head fall in defeat and turned so he wouldn't have to look at her. He had talked to her briefly before the tournament started and learned more about Malik and his crazy amibitions, and upon realizing just how dangerous Malik was, he found himself in a position where he'd be forced to confront a dangerous enemy eventually. Now a friend was in trouble, a friend in the troubles that he had, the only friend who truly understood what trouble they faced...and he might lose her. He breathed deeply to calm himself, but mostly succeeded in sucking blood into his mouth.   
  
"Uh...so...whose turn was it again?"  
  
***********************  
  
Kirani held five cards in her hand and faced Ryu who had a look of restrained fury in his eyes. He wasn't angry with her, it was Malik who was making him so mad. "You understand the terms and accept. But are you really prepared for serving a man you obviously despise."  
  
Ryu's cheek twiched as he drew his sixth card, obviously wanting to go first. "I can accept that, since you seem to be able to."  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
"Nothing. I'll summon La Jinn(1800/1000) in attack mode and one magic or trap card face down on the field." The green genie appear on the field and behind him came a floating card.   
  
Kirani nodded and drew her sixth card, and then made her move. "For my first move I'll set a monster in defense mode and one card face down. Finally the Swords of Revealing Light card to seal you away for three turns. And once those three turns are over you'll be finished."  
  
Ryu was obviously angry now, but he oddly enough still seemed to be thinking rationally. "Whatever you want to think, those swords won't save you." He drew and then smirked at the card.   
  
"Perfect, I'll tribute La Jinn for Jinzo in defense mode, the unfortunate thing is with Jinzo on the field even my traps don't work."  
  
Kirani just shrugged and made her play. "One monster in defense mode. That's it for me."  
  
Ryu grinned, all she was managing was defense monsters, and it wouldn't be long before she was finished. "I summon Lord of Dragons in defense mode and equip him with the Flute of Summon Dragon and use it to summon Serpent Knight Dragon and Tri-Horned Dragon in defense mode mode! I end my turn."  
  
Kirani smiled as she drew and then made her turn. "One monster in defense mode, thats all for me."  
  
"Since this the last turn for the swords I'll summon Harpie's Brother in defense mode, and end my turn. The swords are now gone!"  
  
The swords faded away, leaving the way open for the next turn. Kirani drew and smiled. "I'll now tribute all three of my monsters for Gilford the Lightning to activate his special effect. A lightning bolt now strikes from the sky to destroy all of your hard earned monsters!"   
  
Ryu threw up his arms to shield his eyes from the blinding light of a bright bolt of lightning that speared from the sky and blasted away his monsters. "Damnit, and I had Curse of Fiend all ready to end the duel!"  
  
"Well now you get to meet Gilford the Lightning directly along with his perfect weapon, Lightning Sword to raise his stats by 800. Gilford attack!" The warrior swept his blade sideways and a wave of lightning poured forth striking Ryu and knocking him backwards he rose in pain as his life points dropped dramatically.  
  
Ryu: 400  
  
He cursed himself for his stupidity. So soon against this girl and already he was at 400 life points, this was a bad idea, incredibly stupid. She was a Rare Hunter, a pro, and here he was just throwing out monsters with high attack. And now his strongest monster was gone, and he faced a monster whose stats he couldn't beat with any single monster in his deck. "This doesn't look to good."  
  
Kirani smiled as she watched Ryu draw from his deck, he wasn't looking as confident anymore. "Don't worry Ryu, everything is going to work out just fine. Trust me."  
  
"I lay one monster in defense and a card face down."  
  
Kirani smiled upon her draw. "I told you not to give up. See, great move. But on the other hand...one card face down and then Hand Obliteration. Even better, I'll summon Stern Mystic in attack and then play my down card, Monster Reborn to revive your favorite card, Blue Eyes White Dragon! And I have it attack with Burst Stream!"  
  
The mighty dragon roared at its former master and then poured forth a stream of white energy at Ryu, ready to finish him off. Hinata called out to Ryu over the roar of the Blue Eye's attack, but she didn't think he could hear her. It was horrible to see, Ryu was about to lose the duel and his freedom, to an attack from his favorite card. "Ryu!"  
  
"I activate my face down card, Dark Hole!" A swirling vortex appeared above the field and a sweeping wind ripped out at the monsters and slowly pulled them up and through it. The Blue Eye's let out one final roar before the vortex closed.   
  
Kirani smiled once more, it had been a good play, now that she had played her monsters she couldn't necessarily protect her field, leaving her open for a direct attack. "Congratulations, you defeated your Blue Eyes, but your still losing. I'll end my turn with one face down card."  
  
Ryu nodded as he made his draw and then smiled. "Thanks to your Hand Obliteration card I now have what I need to end the duel here and now. I'll play my own Monster Reborn!"  
  
Kirani's smile turned to shock as Ryu slapped the card down and its magic activated. "No! The Blue Eyes!" And she watched in horror as from the field arose...the Tri-horned Dragon.   
  
"What? Why didn't you bring back the Blue Eyes?"   
  
Ryu smile became a sad one and he turned his head away. "I lost the Blue Eyes to another person, and I don't deserve to give it any commands until I win it back. But the Tri-horned Dragon will due, since I'm adding Megamorph to double its attack strength!" The Tri-horn let out a gastly roar as its power rose from the already impressive 2850 to an awe inspiring 5700.   
  
"This duel is over, Tri-horned Dragon, Dark Flame Attack!" The dragon opened its mouth and belched out a huge gout of black flame at the defenseless Kirani, and when it struck her life points began to drop drastically.   
  
"Looks like I won Kirani, the Blue Eyes is rightfully mine again."  
  
Kirani: 0  
  
Ryu: 0  
  
"Take a look at your life point counter if your so sure you won."  
  
Ryu glanced down and then gasped in shock. "How? How is that possible?"  
  
Kirani shrugged and held up a single card. "Just Desserts, and since you only had 400 life points remaining it finished you off. So its a tie."  
  
"But then...then what happens now?"  
  
Kirani smiled her amazing smile and handed Ryu his Blue Eyes. "You didn't win, but you didn't lose either, so you get the Blue Eyes back, and Malik gets nothing. I told you to trust me." Ryu could only watch in amazement as she turned and walked away. Idly he wondered whether she had planned the duel ahead of time...but that didn't seem possible.   
  
****************  
  
Kensai groaned as his life points were reduced to zero, courtesy of the Twin Mages card, he had lost, again. He dropped to his knees as the holographic field deactivated with the end of the duel, he look truly shocked and devastated. "How could I lose?"  
  
"There's no heart to your deck."  
  
Kensai looked up to see Drake's hand there, he grabbed it and let himself be pulled to his feet. "What do you mean?"  
  
"I mean that you just made it powerful by using strong monsters, but you didn't put enough of your heart into it. You've got monsters in there that don't fit with your deck, or that you don't need. Like Jinzo #7, Crab Turtle, and Performance of Sword. That makes your deck too slow to play. You need to adapt it so that even the monsters you use to sacrifice for your stronger monsters have meaning to you."  
  
Kensai grinned and reached into his pocket. "I think I see what you mean...and I know that you earned these. I also think that I shouldn't give you my soldier." Drake smiled as he accepted the three locater cards, bringing his total to six.   
  
"What do you mean by that? You have to give me your rarest card."  
  
Kensai grinned and began rummaging through the pack that was slung over his shoulder. "But my rarest card isn't a spellcaster, and that's what you use."  
  
"I know, but the rules are the rules."  
  
"Yeah, but who says we can't bend the rules. Ahh...here he is." And to Drake's surprise Kensai held up a card that Drake had been wanting for the longest time. He could only stare in shock.  
  
"I got him while I was attempting to finish a particular set for my deck, and I just remembered that you told me during our duel that the only monster you really wanted to add to your deck was the Black Magician of Chaos, strongest of all magicians. So I figure since you like it, and I prefer warriors, you can have it in place of my Chaos Soldier."  
  
Drake accepted the card and held it up in front of his eyes, just to make sure it was true. Black Magician of Chaos in all its glory, 2800 attack points and an effect that was extremely useful. "Thanks Kensai...I owe you one."   
  
Kensai grinned back at him and then set his pack on the ground. "If you really think you owe me one, then maybe you can help me fix my deck to make it work better. What do you say?"  
  
Drake nodded and then glanced back over his shoulder, "Sure, but first I think its time I had to the finals...why not come along? I could use some friendly support."  
  
__________________________________________  
  
Next Time: All the duelist gather at the place of the finalists and everything kicks off fairly quickly. However not everyone onboard the Battle Blimp is exactly what they seem... 


	9. Place of the Finals

Disclaimer: I do not own Yu-gi-oh, simple as that. Get off my back already!  
  
Chapter Eight: Place of the Finals: The First Two Duels  
  
There were many people plotting at the same moment, some within the same building. At the unfinished Kaiba Corporation Stadium there were two. Malik Ishtar who was discussing his plan for getting the god cards with his underling, Rashid. Seto Kaiba on the other hand was discussing his plans for crushing all competition and creating the ultimate deck. Both had done roughly the same a dozen times previous.   
  
While those two plotted away and laughed about their own superiority, Bakura readied his own plans for defeating his opponents and getting the Millennium Items, just as had been promised by Malik. His plotting was of little concern. It was the plot of a nondescript boy with dark hair that was of greatest concern, and yet unknown to all. Lurking deep within this boy was something ancient and powerful, something that intended to unleash the greatest of all horrors upon the Earth, and the Universe itself.   
  
However the main focus is not own these plotters, it is on the multiple groups of people approaching the stadium. One group is that of Drake, Kensai, and Kirani. The second consists of Ryu, Hinata, and Dalin. The third and last group is that of Yugi, Mai, Joey, and the rest of their friends. They are not the only finalists approaching, merely the only ones in groups.   
  
All three groups reached one of the entrances at the same time, and stopped there starring at something on the ground. A small envelope addressed to Ryu and someone else whose name they didn't recognize. Once informed Ryu made his way to the front and opened it, emptying its contents and taking the note out as well. The note hardly seemed important next to the dozen locator cards that had spilled out, enough to make them a finalist twice. "Well are you gonna read the note or not?"  
  
"Fine fine, stop harassing me. Sheesh. Ok...Ryu Shigeru and Takuya Shinomori, the two of you have proven yourself to have great skill, and should be welcomed into the tournament finals with open arms. To accommodate my wishes I have enclosed twelve locator cards within this envelope, enough to allow both of you to enter the finals. Please do so, or risk disappointing me."  
  
Ryu groaned inwardly, assumming that it was Malik, still trying to get him to serve the freak. "Well I might as well take the locator cards, I'd like a piece of Malik at the very least, even if I don't win. But, do any of you know who Takuya Shinomori is?"   
  
A growl from the back of the group caught everyone's attention, and after a bit of pushing and shoving Kensai managed to make his way to the front and snatched the other six locator cards from Ryu. "That would be me. You didn't actually think my name was Kensai did you?" The blank stares and sheepish looks all around were enough to give him his answer. Sighing he brushed past Ryu and became the first of the group to enter the stadium, soon after the rest followed.   
  
After all the duelists had arrived, a surprising total of fourteen duelists, all of which arrived at roughly the same time. There was a big hassle about who the final eight would be, but eventually Kaiba chose to change the tournament to allow for the fourteen finalists. Though this action surprised most of them, it wasn't until a little bit later that the few who were aware of the god cards realized that they were the reason for Kaiba's generosity. He had no way of knowing which of them might have really rare cards, and at least one of them, the one who said he was Malik, had the last remaining god card.   
  
Shortly after the duelists were organized into their separate rooms about a giant blimp that had descended from the sky. To each duelist's surprise, the duels would be held roughly four thousand feet above sea level, on top of the blimp. Each duelist was aware that soon the time would come for them to duel their absolute hardest, for they would be facing the toughest competition yet, the best of the best. Each of them took time preparing themself, doing whatever they had to in order to be ready.   
  
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Author's Note: I don't want to bore anybody with the specifics of what Yugi and his gang did during this time, as anyone who has seen the episode or read the manga knows how this went. I will not go into the duels that they have, those that do occur that are the same, but I don't want to do this part.  
  
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Everyone had been introduced to everyone, friendships could be made or broken in a tournament such as this, and everyone had at least a little something at stake. Some more than others, and some nothing but the fame of winning such a prestigious tournament. Like all such tournaments, what would come would change everything.   
  
Up in his room Ryu was going over his deck for the third time, just to see whether everything was in its place. After finally decided that every single card was in its place he took out the Blue Eyes White Dragon, and calmly inserted into his deck. It wasn't until after he had done so that he realized that he hadn't had a single flashback or vision since right before the tournament began. "Maybe they gave up on me."  
  
He tried taking them off again, but despite the effort he put in, the gauntlets didn't even bother to budge. He had managed to get the thing on when he first got it, but since then he hadn't managed to remove it, which was a really bad thing if he happened to get an itch on his hand. "Damn."  
  
Then he remembered seeing Drake split in to two people, the second form had the Millennium Item hung around her neck, it had just materialized there, as had she. Concentrating on the item, not knowing what he was doing, just relying on instinct, Ryu gave it a push (the best he could describe it). The item disappeared and his deck fell to the floor, as he picked up the cards he tried to make the item materialize again, and to his surprise it worked. He was finally rid of the burden of his past.  
  
He turned at the sound of the door opening, he smiled as he saw Hinata standing there. She rushed over to him to see how he was doing but stopped in her tracks when he handed her the Jinzo she had given him. "Thanks. It helped me...but I'd rather fight these next duels on my own strength. The fact that you were willing to give me your rarest card is enough for me."  
  
"You're…you're welcome…" Hinata looked up at him sadly, knowing that he still thought of her as a sister, she was also beginning to sense how he felt about a certain girl, a girl who just happened to be a finalist. She flicked her gaze to the wall, the only barrier between Ryu...and Autumn. "Since you have your Blue Eyes back, when this is over and we get back to your place…we need to talk."  
  
"I'm going as far into the finals as I can, so it might be a while. I have the locator cards anyway, so I might as well do my best," replied Ryu. Hinata smiled back at the older boy, both of them just standing there. She wondered whether it was right to just leave things unsaid for right now...maybe she should wait...  
  
Once again the door opened, this time revealing the last person Hinata wanted to see, Autumn. The brief look that crossed Ryu's face before he got control was enough to tell her exactly what she had feared, he had a crush on this girl. "I was wondering whether you knew why someone would leave those locator cards for you. I mean, its not like getting locator cards was easy, and whoever left them had enough to toss aside twelve without really caring."  
  
Ryu shrugged and glanced over at Hinata, she to had no answer. "Sorry, I really can't help with that. At least not probably. I think it may have been that Malik guy...he wants something from me, but I'm not so sure now, I don't really know why he'd also give locator cards to Kensai." Silence permeated the room for a few moments before Ryu managed to make an important decision.   
  
Standing, Ryu made his way over to the smaller auburn haired girl. He handed her a small piece of paper and turned away quickly. Not letting her get a good look at him, just in case. "If you want...you can call me after the finals."" He didn't wait for a response, afraid that he'd get a negative response. He opened the door for Hinata and walked out behind her. He followed her at a rushed pace until they reached the main area, where at that moment a buffet was being served. He thought about eating, but dismissed the idea when he caught site of Joey eating. Anyone eating like that was enough to get rid of anyone's appetite.   
  
Once they were far enough away from other people to be heard, Hinata started to speak to him right away, "I don't like Autumn."  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Because…because I…I guess I'm jealous of her, I know that you like her," Ryu began to open his mouth but she interrupted, "I know, I know that you think that it's your duty to protect me. To replace Robert as my brother. I don't want that…"  
  
Ryu tried to speak again, but he was interrupted, "Ryu…I…I'm sorry. That was probably the last think you wanted to hear. But do you mind, I need to be by myself right now…I'm going out somewhere." He tried to protest, but she left to quickly, not letting him say a word. He closed his eyes, feeling an intense pressure upon his heart. She was right...this wasn't something he needed at the moment, but she should have told him earlier he could have...could have what? There was nothing he could do about it, she thought of him in a way he didn't think of her, how could he changed that, or do anything to help her? Being around her right now was just going to hurt her, and that was the last thing he wanted.   
  
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Drake finished going through his deck and set it aside, next to his duel disk. He felt ready enough, certainly he could probably improve his deck if he really tried to, but there wasn't much point in going through some huge rush in an attempt to improve his deck, not with the time he had at the moment. His time was better spent focusing on what was to come. There wasn't much pointing in thinking about potential strategies, he only knew the way a few of the finalists dueled.   
  
At one point or another, depending on how far he got, he'd end up dueling at least one of the top duelists in the world. Whether that be Yugi, Joey, Mai, or Kaiba he couldn't be sure. But he was reasonably ready for anything that they threw at him. The only thing he really had to fear were the god cards, but they weren't that big a deal. He had gone over the god cards enough times to know their weaknesses and strengths.   
  
The first weakness of the god cards was the current sacrifice requirement. To bring out a god card you needed to sacrifice three monsters, and it wasn't exactly easy to get three monsters on the field and keep them there long enough to perform the sacrifice. The second weakness was actually a strength as well. When it came to magic cards, god cards could only be affected for a single turn, and magic cards that would destroy a card wouldn't effect them. This became a strength against cards like Raigeki, but a weakness if the god card ever ended up in the graveyard...they could only be resurrected for a single turn, afterwards the magic cards effect would fade.   
  
Traps were absolutely useless against god cards, so while trying to use them on one of the gods was pointless, you could still use them against other monsters, preventing their attack or destroying them. Amongst the gods, Obelisk was the easiest to use, he had a set attack and defense, so you didn't have to worry about the cards in your hand or the monsters being sacrificed like with the other two. Osiris recovered from its hand-size strength by having an incredibly powerful special effect, any monster summoned after Osiris would instantly be reduced by 2000 points from whatever mode it was in, if that monster happened to be under 2000, then it was destroyed.   
  
Ra was the one god card that frightened him. Its attack and defense depended on the monsters sacrificed for it, which wasn't all that impressive, but its numerous special abilities made it dangerous. Not only could it be used to destroy a monster, no matter its attack strength by paying 1000 life points, it could also have its power increased by either sacrificing a monster to it, or paying all but 1 of your life points.   
  
"Thinking hard, or hardly thinking?" Drake looked up at the door and grinned as Kirani stepped in. She was just as beautiful as ever. Shaking his mind from those thoughts, he turned to the issue at hand.   
  
"I'm thinking about the upcoming duels, things like the god cards...and Malik." They both lowered their heads in silent respect for the Rare Hunters who had lost their lives or minds to the lunatic. They hadn't necessarily been good people, but they hadn't deserved what had happened.   
  
"Look...lets focus on something a bit lighter for right now. We could both do with a little bit of relaxation. I hear they have a buffet out there, want to check it out?" Grinning like an idiot Drake nodded, and followed Kirani to the main room. Sure it wasn't like she had asked him on a date, but it would do for now.   
  
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Dalin did not trust the boy who had introduced himself as Taichi Nobuki, nor did he trust that Malik had introduced himself as Namu and Rishid as Malik. Something was going on, but what it was he didn't know. He could also feel incredible power surging from three cards somewhere in the room, power that outshined that of any of the other cards in the room.   
  
Seto Kaiba quickly organized them together and watched them, smirking the whole time, as everyone's number was announced. Kaiba was one, Joey was two, Yugi was three, Mai four, Namu five, Bakura six, Malik seven, Drake eight, Autumn nine, Ryu ten, Taichi eleven, Kirani twelve, Kensai thirteen (he groaned in agony upon hearing his number), and Dalin himself was fourteen. They were informed that before each duel a bingo machine containing bingo balls with their numbers on them would be used to determine the duelists, when the numbers were called, those duelists would take their places, and the duel would begin.   
  
After a few hour, during which there was much contemplation and preparation on Dalin's part, everyone was assembled. Duelists and observers. Kaiba faced them all and gestured to a bingo machine. "In mere moments I will use this bingo machine to determine the first duelists. This is how all the first round duels will be decided. Each duelist once selected will have fifteen minutes to make their way to the arena. If they take even a minute longer they will be disqualified."  
  
There were a few muttered comments, but nothing spoken to loudly. And seeing that there were no questions Kaiba opened a hatch at the end of the spinning machine and held out the first bingo ball. "Duelist six will be dueling in the first match!" Off to side Bakura grinned and quickly took his place at the arena. He was curious as to who his opponent would be.   
  
"Duelist three will also be dueling in the first match." The spirit of the Millennium Ring hid his grin, he would have a chanced to get revenge on the Pharaoh for his previous defeat...perfect. Once Yugi joined him at the elevator they were whisked up to the top of the blimp to the Stratos Arena, where the dueling would take place. Each duelist took a position opposite to the other, activated their duel disks, and drew their opening hands. Everyone else took observation positions in order to enjoy the duel more fully.   
  
Confident of his upcoming victory, Bakura smirked and said, "Ready to lose Yugi?" Snarling the transformed Yugi, or the Pharaoh that resided in the Puzzle shot back at Bakura, demanding to know who really was in control of Bakura.  
  
Yami Bakura reveals the Millennium Ring around his neck, and Yugi realized that his opponent is the same opponent he fought in the Shadow Realm at Duelist Kingdom. Tristan is shocked to see the Millennium Ring after he threw it into the woods of Duelist Kingdom, Namu and Mai don't understand what all the fuss is about until Tea and Joey explain how Bakura's Millennium Item contains an evil spirit.   
  
As Joey hopes that they won't end up dragged into the Shadow Realm again, Namu is amused that none of the others realize he is really Malik. "Why are you here thief? Why in the name of Ra are you dueling?"  
  
"Foolish Pharaoh, I am no longer intent on taking the Millennium Puzzle, I have my sights set on something far more powerful. You see so little it's pathetic, you can't even seem to see that not everyone on the ship is exactly who they appear to be!" Before Yami Bakura could continue he was stopped by Malik who contacted him mentally, and briefly warned him that he was giving too much away.   
  
Yami Bakura is confident that victory will, in the end, be his however as his first turn begins everything begins to change. "I summon The Portrait's Secert(1200/1500) in attack mode."  
  
The rest of the duel went by with a fast paced and dangerous essence to it, ending with Yugi summoning Osiris for the first time and using it to finish the duel, keeping Bakura from victory. After the duel ended there was a thirty minute break, and during this time a secret duel took place between Malik and Bakura...ending with Malik as the winner and Bakura nowhere to be found.   
  
The second duel began shortly after the end of the Malik/Bakura duel, and it turned out to be Joey versus Malik. The duel was a dangerous one, with the supposed Malik using a trap deck. Near the end it was revealed that he was not in fact Malik, but Rishid, Malik's assistant. In order to try and keep up the pretense that Rishid was Malik, the real Malik ordered the Rare Hunter to summon Ra, but the card was a copy and the real Ra rose from its card and used deadly energies to strike down the two duelists. Kaiba ruled that the first duelist to rise would be the winner, and Joey was able to rise first, making him the victor.   
  
Another thirty minute break was about to begin, and then the third duel would commence, there was no telling just what this duel would include, and Kaiba had hopes of seeing the real Ra in action...hopes that would shortly be fulfilled.   
  
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Next Time: In the next chapter the third duel of the Battle City finals commences, and its a shocking one as the real Malik steps up to duel for the first time, and reveal the powers of Ra, the strongest of the three god cards. With Ra's terrible power dominating the field, Malik's opponent must find the strength within themself to defeat a god...  
  
Author's Note: Yes I'm fully aware that this chapter sucks, originally it was two chapters that included both the Yugi/Bakura duel and the second one the Joey/Rishid duel, but because these duels are not original ones I do not wish to put them up, not only that but not everyone knows how those duels went, so I don't want to go through a play by play of them and spoil things for those who don't know. I apologize to those who had hoped to read a good duel in this chapter, and I hope to make up for it in the next chapter. 


	10. To Defeat a God

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh and I don't intend to put some snappy comment right here every single time. It gets annoying.   
  
Chapter Nine: To Defeat A God  
  
Whispers in the winds, thoughts of death, voices in the darkness, an end to all things. Once long ago, in a time after the first humans began to think and act for themselves, there came a guardian. The essence of destruction that before time began had swept across the Universe, destroying everything, was now sealed by its power and the power of the gods. But even the gods could not keep such a powerful force totally contained, and so its power began to leak out of its prison. It was not a rush of power, but a mere trickle, so little that it wasn't noticed for the first few millennia. It wasn't noticed until an Egyptian stumbled upon that power in defense of his life.   
  
Desperate to find safety from bandits the traveler had flung out his arms and screamed out a prayer for destruction to fall upon the bandits. And so it did. A dark fog enveloped them all, and from within it came a monster, this monster had no shape at first, but after slaughtering the bandits it turned to the one who had summoned it, and took on the shape that the traveler desired. It became the first of the monsters to be found.   
  
Word of the travelers discovery did not escape notice, and soon the Pharaoh had his greatest sorcerers working to solve the mystery of this dark place...this Shadow Realm where the monsters were. But their efforts backfired, for the more the realm's power was drawn upon, the more souls it devoured, the more powerful it became. Soon enough the monsters were roaming free, and it seemed that nothing could be done, for whenever one of the monsters killed someone, the Shadow Realm grew.   
  
Knowing that not even the combined powers of all those who held even the slightest command over magic could turn the tide the Pharaoh chose to beseech the gods for an answer to their plight. In response to the Pharaoh's prayers and the prayers of the rest of the people of Egypt the gods devised a way to weaken the Shadow Realm, and keep the monsters of it from roaming the world.   
  
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Memory lost within an overwhelming void, memory unattainable, mysteries that would remain unsolved. Unless he succeeded he gaining the Millennium Puzzle, and to do that he would have to defeat Yugi Motou, the King of Games himself. Dalin was utterly focused on the task at hand, the task of making certain that he would win his way to a duel with Yugi, he had no other choice.   
  
His focus however, was interrupted as someone burst into his room. Instantly he jerked to his feet and extended his right arm towards the door, an act that wasn't his own choice. He had simply reacted, and his first reaction was to get his ringed hand into play. His aggressive stance ended when he realized who it was, the man was Rishid, face bare and apparently injured. "Rishid? What are you doing here? And what happened to you?"  
  
Rishid groaned and collapsed onto one of the chairs shortly after closing the door. Upon close inspection Dalin discovered that his injuries were caused by some kind of impact...it seemed like he had struck by something quite hard. "My defeat rather upset Master Malik. He used his magic to hurl me across the room causing the injuries you see, but before he could finish me off he heard a call from elsewhere on the ship, some sort of magic. I do not know what distracted him, but it allowed me to escape."  
  
"Malik did this to you? But why, he doesn't seem like the kind of person who would do such a thing." It didn't make any sense at all, how could Malik, the person who had saved him and nursed him to health, be cruel enough to try and kill their loyal ally? Was Rishid lying, or was he telling the truth? If so, what would that mean about the things Dalin had been told?  
  
"Mas...no...Malik is not who you believe him to be. You see within the person you believe yourself to know is a dangerously unstable spirit, a terrible thing of evil created out of Malik's own inner rage. The spirit killed his parents and now seeks to gain vast powers, and have revenge upon the person he believes ruined everything for him, the Pharaoh."   
  
Yes...that would make sense. He had previously detected conflicting emotions, and something dangerous within Malik, but he had foolishly believed that the danger he sensed was merely Malik dealing with the power of an item liked the Millennium Rod. If Malik was truly possessed by a spirit of such a deadly nature, then it was Malik who was his enemy, and not Yugi Motou at all. "You have to tell me something Rishid, my memories, can I really have them restored only by getting the Millennium Puzzle and the three god cards, or is there another way?"  
  
Rishid closed his eyes for a moment as if contemplating something, and when he opened his eyes they had a new resolve to them. He had changed in a few brief seconds from Malik's loyal follower, to a free man. "The truth is that Malik himself used the Millennium Rod to hide away your true identity and powers from yourself, your memories cannot come without revealing who you are. If Malik were defeated, or you lifted his hold on you in some other way, then perhaps your memories can return."  
  
So he had a new goal in mind. He could defeat Malik, or he could defeat Yugi. The question was which deserved it more, Malik for his betrayal and his actions, or Yugi for the Pharaoh within's actions in the past? Clenching his fists Dalin rose and pocketed his deck, he let he rode out his anger, and let the calm follow. "Do you know who I am Rishid? Is there anything about me that you know and can tell me?"   
  
Rishid rose as well and reached into his own pocket and pulled out his deck. "Listen to me Dalin, Malik must be stopped, but I fear that he is no longer alone in his plotting. Despite the evil that he has become, Malik would know better then to mess with forces that are as dangerous as you are, something or someone is manipulating him, and I ask that you defeat him and stop whatever is happening. If Malik succeeds and if you should die, then all life may cease to exist."  
  
"I understand."   
  
"Will duelists seven and fourteen please report to the Stratos Dueling Arena for the third match of the finals. Your duel begins in exactly five minutes."  
  
Dalin strode to the door, locking eyes briefly with Rishid, and stepped outside, ready to do his part and defeat Malik. It was not merely for him, it was now for a far greater purpose that he would duel and win. "Dalin...take these two cards, cards that Malik himself gave me, and use them to bring victory. And use this knowledge...you are the Devourer, that is all that I know."   
  
Dalin nodded and slipped the two cards into his deck in honor of a new ally. He made his way to the dueling arena with a new found purpose, and a little bit closer to unlocking the secrets of his identity. If Malik had referred to him as the Devourer, then it had to have something to do with Egypt, as all that Malik delved into did. "I will claim victory, and to do so I must defeat Malik...and Ra."  
  
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Mere minutes later the two duelists stood on opposite sides of the Stratos dueling arena, watching each other...and waiting. It was to begin soon, a duel that would determine who lived and who died. Each of them fully understood that in every way that was possible the other was their enemy, and an enemies are meant to be destroyed. Malik feared and hated what Dalin was for reasons that were his own, and Dalin despised Malik for his deception and for the cruelty he had displayed. Now they would have a chance to determine who deserved to exist.   
  
"Malik Ishtar...Are you prepared to be judged?" The dark spirit turned to him and grinned maliciously, licking his lips in a sickening manner. This Malik, Yami Malik it could be said, was a depraved lunatic who had to be finished as soon as possible.   
  
"We shall see who judges whom in this duel soon enough. Tell me Dalin, are you willing to accept a Shadow Game? Are you willing to risk absolutely everything to recover your lost memories? After all, for all you know you're better off without an identity."  
  
The two duelists thrust their arms out and activated their duel disks. "I will accept any challenge, and I will be victorious. And you should know that I'm not one to make idle threats, so I'll leave it at this. You won't simply lose, you'll die."  
  
The purple fog rose and blanketed the top of the blimp, enveloping them in darkness. This was the earthly representation of the Shadow Realm. Within the Shadow Realm the monsters were real, and the loser would be worse off then simply being out of the tournament, however lost would suffer Penalty Game.  
  
"Ready Malik? I start us off by summon Atom Firefly(100/200) in attack mode and then I'll set two cards face on the field." His mechanical insect took its place in front of him and trained its beady eyes on Malik, ready to strike when ordered.  
  
"I'll summon Dark Jelloid and activate its effect to reduce your monsters attack by 800, and~what the?" Malik watched his monster tumble into the depths below, into some pitfall that he hadn't seen.   
  
"My Trap Hole card destroys your monster."  
  
"Alright, I set two cards face down and end my turn."  
  
"Allow me to introduce you to one of my rarest and deadliest monster. A monster that will strengthen me every turn. Ami, the White Mage(1200/0) in attack mode. I now shift Atom Firefly into defense, and set one more card. Next I'll activate Stealing Goblin, who will rob you of 500 life points and place them on me!" A fat goblin made its way out of the card pushing a car in front of it and trudged over to Malik. With a quick grab of his hand he snatched something from Malik and ran back to Dalin, depositing it in his hands.   
  
"That's hardly any real damage. Hardly a productive turn was it? All you managed to do was summon one pathetic monster. I thought the money you used while in Egypt would have allowed you to find better cards then that mage and the insect, but it appears I was mistaken. Hahaahahahahahahahahahahaha!"  
  
Dalin laughed and gestured once more at his opponent. The white-clothed, pink-haired mage mimicked him. "We'll see how pathetic it is come next turn. End turn."   
  
(DLP: 4000) "Curse of Pain redirects all damage I receive this turn from anything other then battle, so you're the one who takes the damage. You see! You don't stand a chance against me!"  
  
Dalin smirked and gestured for Malik to make his move. The spiky haired Yami Malik snapped a card off the top of his deck and began to laugh. "I'll summon Lord Poision(1500/1000) in attack mode! I'll attack your mage!"   
  
Malik's monster rushed across the field to strike down his monster only to run headlong into a spear of some sort. "Your attack triggers my Enchanted Javelin, which increases my life points by its attack strength. Next I'll activate Shift, changing the target of your attack to Atom Firefly!" (DLP: 5500)   
  
Lord Poison swerved away from the mage and struck down the mechanical bug, shattering it into thousands of components. (MLP: 3000) Once more Dalin grinned. "I forgot to say that when Atom Firefly is destroyed while face-up, it deals one thousand damage to the player that destroyed it.   
  
Malik sneered and squeezed the Millennium Rod tightly in his hand, his knuckles white from his furious grip. "I end my turn."  
  
"Good, now I will show you exactly why my White Mage is so deadly. When I said it would strengthen me, I was serious. During my standby phase Ami increases my life points by 400 times the number of monsters on my field. (DLP: 5900)."   
  
Ami smiled and waved her wand at him, sending glowing light into his outstretched arms. He smiled and nodded thanks to her.   
  
Yami Malik snarled and put a hand to his chest. He didn't understand it, so soon into the duel and already he was nearly three thousand life points behind! "You will pay!"  
  
Dalin grinned and slid his next card into a magic slot. "I'll set one card face down and summon Venus, the Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode." A golden angel with long flowing blond hair rose up on the field, her arms crossed over her chest and wings spread as wide as they could go. Hovering around here were three iridescent balls.   
  
"Next I'll activate her effect by paying 1500 life points to special summon all three of my Holy Shine Spheres(500/500). I also switch Ami into defense." The spheres floating around Venus suddenly careened away until they each rested beside her in a row, filling up his monster zones. The glow they let out completely illuminated the field, even at night. (DLP: 4400)   
  
Malik knew that a few hundred life points wouldn't make a difference, as long as Dalin didn't target his monsters he'd easily be able to summon Ra, and then the duel would be his. "I draw and then~" Malik gasped as a bolt of light shot out of Dalin's face down card and struck him in the chest.   
  
"I activated my Solar Ray which deals you six hundred damage for every light type monster on my field. Which means that you receive three thousand damage." (MLP: 1500)  
  
Malik grimaced and activated his face down card, saving him from losing the duel right then and there. "My Damage Reducer cuts the damage dealt to me during this turn by half, keeping me safe for now. Next I'll summon Revival Jam in attack mode and set a card face down behind him. Revival Jam and Lord Poison will destroy two of those pesky spheres!"  
  
Malik set one card and the two monsters attacked two of the spheres, crushing them with ease. The turn then came back to Dalin. He snapped a card off his deck and grinned, throwing the card down onto the field even as once again Ami using her magic to raise his life points. (DLP: 5600) "I summon Mercury the Angel of Wisdom(0/1700) in defense mode and have Venus attack your Lord Poison!"  
  
A blue skinned and blue winged angel now took its place next to Venus. He hefted a stone tablet under one arm and rubbed his chin in reflection with the other. On the sidelines Tea was practically having a fit, the angel monsters Dalin was summon were really awesome!   
  
Yami Malik's eyes widened in delight as he activated his face down card, and in a rush of motion the Revival Jam through itself in the way of the beam of light that Venus unleashed against Lord Poison. (MLP: 1400) "My face down card Jam Defender allows my Revival Jam to block all of your attacks. Next Revival Jam will reform!"   
  
Malik began to laugh with evil glee as the shattered plasma monster oozed together and returned to its former spot on the field, once again whole. Dalin didn't respond, all he did was give Malik a cold stare. "I end my turn."  
  
Malik slipped the top card off his deck and sneered as he slapped it onto the field. "I summon Makyura the Destructor(1600/1200) in attack mode! However since none of my monsters can match your defense monster or attack I think I'll leave it at that, after I set a card that is." A purple clad monster with various spikes all over its body appeared beside Malik's two other monsters, standing tall and deadly.   
  
"Very well Malik. I'll draw, and then Mercury's special effect activates. Since I had no cards in my hand at the end of your turn, I get to draw a card during my standby phase, meaning I get two cards effectively. And remember, I get even more life points this turn thanks to Ami. (DLP: 7200) I set Prominence Dragon(1500/1000) in defense mode, and set one card face down on the field. Go ahead and show me what you can do, show me the power of a god."  
  
Before Malik could do anything, the fiery serpentine dragon that Dalin had just summoned blew a fireball at him, catching him in the chest and knocking him backwards. (MLP: 900) "Oh, and by the way, at the end of each of my turns Prominence Dragon deals five hundred damage to my opponent."  
  
Malik pulled free his next card and immediately slammed it down on his duel disc. "You ask and so you shall receive! I sacrifice Lord Poison, Makyura, and Revival Jam for the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(4600/2700). I also equip it with Fairy Meteor Crush."   
  
A massive storm picked up, shoving both duelists backwards. As lightning bolts crashed down around them the massive sphere of Ra appeared on the field. Dalin remained silent as Malik chanted the hiretic required to take Ra out of its sphere form and reveal its true form. It took under a minute for Malik to complete the chant, and allow Ra to open into its massive golden form.   
  
  
  
Kaiba was astonished at Ra's appearance, and instantly sent Mokuba to find out exactly what Ra could do. He had to know, he had to have that card. Nothing else mattered except this card, its power was just to good to be true!  
  
As Ra stared down at Dalin's tiny form, things began to look grim. It was enough to make Malik laugh with joy. "This will be perfect! The Devourer annihilated by one of the gods! Your destiny has been ended Sumatin, and mine is about to begin. God Breath Cannon!"   
  
A beam of golden energy burst forth from the god's beak, and lanced towards Prominence Dragon, blasting it out of existence. Seemingly in retaliation Dalin's face down card flipped up and shot a jet of fire at Malik, scorching him once again. (MLP: 400, DLP: 3600) "Backfire deals five hundred damage to you whenever one of my fire main type monsters is destroyed. Your doing my work for me."   
  
Dalin smirked and snapped a card off his deck, barely pausing to look at it as he drew a second card. (DLP: 5200) "I'll simply end my turn at that."  
  
Malik couldn't help but laugh at his opponent's stupidity. He had been doing so well too! "First I sacrifice Ami the White Mage and your Holy Shine Soul for Lava Golem(3000/2500), he's under your control, but each of your standbye phases you'll lose one thousand life points. Now Ra will destroy the Angel of Creation!"   
  
First a massive beast made of pure Lava reared up on Dalin's side, and next Ra's blast destroyed the Angel of Creation. Now Dalin was down to two monsters, and in his next turn he'd lose life points. Things were looking grim.   
  
"Now the time has come for me to end Ra. I summon Pot of Greed Guardian(1200/1300) in defense mode, and activate its special ability. By discarding a Pot of Greed from my hand I can draw three cards, which I will raising my hand to four cards."   
  
A muscular green man with a head identical to the card Pot of Greed materialized and laughed hysterically at Malik for no apparent reason. (DLP: 4200) "Now I can play Greedy Sacrifice, which lets me sacrifice one monster on the field, Mercury in this case, to increase one monster's attack strength by the chosen stat of the monster I sacrifice. So during this turn Lava Golem reaches 4700 attack strength!"   
  
As Mercury disappeared from the field, Lava Golem grew by several feet in each dimension, making it nearly as massive as Ra. "Lava Golem, attack and destroy Ra!" The massive lava monster swung one huge fist and clobbered Ra, sending it careening backwards and destroying it. (MLP: 300)   
  
"I'll set one card, and end my turn. I could finish you now, but I prefer to make you suffer."   
  
Malik's laugh was as evil as ever, and it worried everyone but Dalin. It was obvious he had something planned, but it didn't particularly matter. "I summon a second Revival Jam in defense mode and end my turn. Soon you'll be suffering."  
  
"All pointless talk Malik. There can only be one victor, and you know all to well that I will be that victor, otherwise why point me at your enemy and present yourself as a friend? You know I will beat you, so you tried to make me defeat your enemies for you."  
  
"Believe what you like."  
  
"I trust what I believe. I place Aztec Statue(300/2000) in defense mode and end my turn." Dalin's next monster was essentially a stone wall with hands and a face, not particularly impressive.   
  
"Fool. The end has come for you. I now have the necessary combo to not only defeat you, but kill you in the process. I summon Melkid the Four-Faced beast and sacrifice it and Revival Jam for Masked Beast Des Guardian(3300/2500)) and I send it to attack that statue!"   
  
The beast took a swing at the statue and clawed right through it. Dalin simply shrugged and drew his next card, ignoring Malik's insane laughter. The guy seriously needed to relax or something.   
  
(DLP: 3200) "I summon Atomic Firefly(100/200) and equip it with Camaflouge Armor, which lets a level one monster attack directly. Atomic Firefly attacks!" The machine buzzed across the field and zapped Malik with electricity, making him grimace in pain as his life points dropped. (MLP: 200)   
  
"I dare you to attack, because if you do not only will you destroy my monster and my life points, but you'll also lose 1000 life points, knocking yourself out of the duel along with me. Are you willing to risk that?"  
  
Malik began to laugh hysterically as he drew his next card, something that obviously made him quite happy. "The end has now come for you, I have a way to finish this duel without risking losing myself. I play Monster Reborn to revive Ra(0000/0000) from the cemetery!"  
  
Dalin quirked his eyebrow as Ra appeared next to Des Guardias, towering over the now puny monster. "And now you sacrifice Des Guardias to raise Ra's attack strength?"  
  
"Exactly! (Ra: 3300/2500) Now I equip him with Megamorph to double his attack strength! (Ra: 6600) Next comes one of his other abilities, I can pay any amount of life points to increase Ra's attack or defense by that amount, so I do so reducing my life points by 199 to further raise his attack. (Ra: 6799, MLP: 1) Now Ra has more then enough attack points to destroy the Lava Golem and all of your life points! Attack and end this duel with God Breath Cannon!"  
  
With a single bolt of its incredible energies the Lava Golem was no more, and so was Dalin. Or at least he should have been. "How are you still standing? That attack should have finished you!"  
  
Dalin laughed and shook his head, pointing at the card he had face down on the field. "You should pay more attention to your opponents cards, because they might have a habit of using them to defy your destiny, and even defy time itself. I activate Time Machine, which returns my monster to the field as it was at the beginning of the turn, and I take no damage to my life points."  
  
A large room rose from the ground, and when it opened the Lava Golem stepped up, ready to fight. At that same moment Ra faded away. "You shouldn't have committed everything into one strike with Ra, not without making sure there was absolutely no way I could defend myself. Now Ra is gone and you have nothing to defend yourself with."  
  
"No, this can't be happening!"  
  
"Now your own technique will be the death of you Malik. As you remember Ra can be used by anyway who can speak the ancient tongue, which I can! Now I activate Monster Reborn to raise The Winged Divine Dragon of Ra to the field in attack!"   
  
Malik stared in horror at his own monster, staring down at him with hatred in its eyes. "How can this be? I was destined to win!" (DLP: 2200)  
  
(A/N: Que wicked Final Fantasy/Opera music that is played when a god card is summoned) "Destiny has a way of changing, especially when people like me are involved. I sacrifice Atom Firefly and Lava Golem to raise Ra's attack points. (Ra: 3100) Of course in accordance with your combo I'll sacrifice all but one of my life points to raise Ra's attack by an even greater amount. (Ra: 5299, DLP: 1) Now Ra can attack you directly and utterly destroy you with its God Breath Cannon!"   
  
Everything seemed to slow down as the mighty god opened its mouth to unleash its awesome power. A power that, used like this, could easily kill the person being attacked. Yugi understood all of this, and he understood that even Malik didn't deserve to die. In a flash of light he transformed into his alter ego, Yami Yugi. "Sumatin! Stop this right now, even Malik doesn't deserve this!"   
  
Dalin's eyes flashed with a silver light as he turned to Yami Yugi. "Don't be stupid little Pharaoh. This is exactly what he deserves, and he was willing to risk his life in a Shadow Game. This is his punishment for what he has done, and unless you want to take his place then I suggest you be quiet!"  
  
"That's exactly what I'll do. I will take his place in a Shadow Game!" Gasps of shock can be heard from the spectators at Yugi's announcement, at least from those who know about Shadow Games. Yami Yugi wasn't simply doing it to save Malik, he was doing it because something about Sumatin intrigued him. Something had just changed in this man, and Yami needed to know what.   
  
"Very well little Pharaoh. We shall commence our own Shadow Game, and it will be like none you have ever played before!"   
  
"Let the Shadow Game Begin!"  
  
*************************************  
  
The first thing that Yami noticed was the golden object in front of him. The second was that the object was massive set of scales. He reached out to touch it and was shocked to discover that it was solid to the touch. It was as real as he was! "What is this? What game are we playing Sumatin?"   
  
"So eager to play Pharaoh? You shouldn't be since this is not a contest of skill or luck, but a contest to measure the challenger. I'd tell you to prepare yourself, but there isn't any way to prepare oneself for a challenge such as this." Yami stumbled back in shock as Sumatin rose up from the shadows below the scale. The sudden appearance was not what had frightened Yami however, it was the shape of the man's shadow. It most definitely wasn't human.   
  
"Very well Sumatin. Tell me the rules of this game and we shall begin." Sumatin smirked and reached into his pocket, pulling free a small white feather. Casually he tossed it into the air, where it fluttered briefly before coming to rest on one side of the scale.   
  
"This is the Feather of Ma'at, Goddess of Truth and Justice. The rules are simple, you will have to back up your words by judging Malik. If you succeed in proving him to be lighter then the feather he will be allowed to live. Should he prove to be heavier, then his soul will be mine to consume!"   
  
Yami felt rage bubble up in his heart, rage at Sumatin for casting such a burden upon him. Who did this man think he was to balance a person's soul on something so trite as a set of scales. "I can't judge him, I hardly know a thing about him."  
  
Dalin sneered and motioned briefly with his hand towards the scales. Malik vanished only to be replaced by Seto Kaiba. "Very well then. If you won't judge Malik, then perhaps you'll be willing to judge Seto Kaiba. If he is found guilty then Malik will die, if he is found innocent then you shall get your wish."  
  
Yami snarled and moved forwards to confront Dalin, his puzzle glowing on his chest and the Eye of Ra glowing brightly upon his forehead. He was beginning to grow irritated. "Understand this Sumatin, people are not toys! They are not pawns in whatever twisted game you intend on playing! So let Seto Kaiba go and let the person who is judged be me!"  
  
"I was hoping you'd say that. Now my Pharaoh, the judgement begins now, and soon you may find yourself as a meal for the Devourer of Souls!" Yami gasped as he found himself standing on one the side of the scale opposite the feather and to his horror he was already outweighing Ma'at's feather!   
  
"Within your mind lie the secrets of how dangerous you truly are. Remember this Yami, you chose your own Shadow Games to play, and you toyed with the lives of those mortals just as I now toy with the lives of these mortals."   
  
"What are you talking about Sumatin? I haven't toyed with anyone!" Yami let out a sudden gasp as the air in front of him flickered, revealing a massive ogre of a boy in a school uniform holding a knife in his hand quivering over a stack of money. Across from him sat Yami, a sadistic grin on his face.   
  
*****************************  
  
"Welcome to the Shadow Games, Ushio," Yami explained with a dark chuckle. "You cannot hide your true nature here. It's your own greed that will decide your fate, not I! Do you sacrifice your left hand to take the money, or do you lose the game?"   
  
Ushio snickered. "I've got a better idea!" He swung the knife at Yami's chest, but the ancient spirit leapt up and over the boy's thrust, landing safely behind him.   
  
"Just as I suspected! You weren't able to follow the rules after all!" he said, his hair twisting about in a sudden breeze to reveal a flickering eye that matched the one on the pyramid he wore. "How dare you trespass in my soul, Ushio! How dare you hurt my friends and try to steal my money!!"  
  
Casting his left hand out in front of him, fingers spread wide apart, Yami happily pronounced his sentence. "Penalty game! Greed, the illusion of avarice!"   
  
**************************  
  
Dalin laughed violently as Yami's side tipped violently downwards, easily outweighing the minimal weight of the feather. "Now you see Yami! You are not as innocent as you would have others believe. This is not even the worst of your actions! Here you toyed with this man's life, though justly in my opinion, but at other times there was no justice in your actions!"  
  
"Lets get this Shadow Game over with Sumatin, so I can prove that I'm not like you are!" Dalin's laughter merely angered the Pharaoh even further, making him wish he could end this charade and attack his opponent.   
  
"You care nothing for human life little Pharaoh, for as Pharaoh in Egypt you were considered to be a god! I understand the effects of such a thing on the morals of all mortals. What is the phrase? Absolute power corrupts absolutely? You prove my point true by being callous towards the lives of others!"  
  
****************************  
  
Yami stood across from Seto Kaiba on a section of Pegasus' castle on Duelist Kingdom. In between them was the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon looking sickly with only two heads remaining, hundreds of Kuriboh, and Celtic Guardian. It was now Kaiba's turn.   
  
"I draw, however since I can't do anything this turn I'm going to have to make a different sort of play to win this duel. I'm willing to do whatever it takes to defeat you and enter that castle."   
  
Kaiba stepped backwards and onto the ledge overlooking a sheer drop to the rocks hundreds of feet below, a fall from such a place would surely kill him. "If you attack me, and drop my life points down to zero, I'll jump and end my life. Then the guilt of my death would be on your conscious. Are you willing to accept that Yugi, or will you surrender now?"  
  
Yami snarled and drew his next card. Not even bothering to look at it he cast his hand out, pointing at the Ultimate Dragon. "I've also got someone counting on me so I must make it into Pegasus' castle! I will call your bluff and finish you off once and for all. Celtic Guardian, attack his Ultimate Dragon!"   
  
Kaiba sneered and shifted backwards slightly, so that his feet were halfway off the edge of the castle. "You've just killed me Yugi, I hope you feel happy knowing that your rival is dead at your hands."  
  
********************  
  
Once more the scales tilted inexorably downwards, leaving little room between Yami's side and the ground. Dalin shook his head, saddened by this. "You truly are pathetic Pharaoh. Sacrificing Kaiba's life for such a reason? If your Hikari hadn't seized a moment of control at the last second then Kaiba would surely have jumped and his death would be on your hands. I'm fairly certain that these actions prove your guilt, I see no reason to continue this Shadow Game."   
  
"Wait a moment Sumatin, this game can't be over yet! I haven't even had a chance to defend myself! What about the rules you told me about?" Dalin's cruel laughter rang endlessly through the void of the Shadow Realm, piercing into Yami's very soul. There was something unearthly about it.  
  
"Perhaps you misunderstood Pharaoh. This was never a traditional Shadow Game. It was the judgement passed down by Osiris, Lord of the Dead. All those judged guilty upon the scales would have their souls cast to the Devourer, never to feel the pleasure of paradise! You who are so proved guilty have no right to possess the God of Osiris! I will take great pleasure in relieving you of it when we duel."  
  
****************************  
  
A burst of golden energy erupted from Ra's opened beak and washed over his body, twisting about it in a malevolent vortex of chaotic energies. Malik's cry of agony cut to the bone and only two people there got true satisfaction from it. Malik had deserved to be beaten yes, and sent to a mental asylum, but he hadn't deserved this.   
  
The cry of agony seemed to stretch for ages as the energies of the god card swirled about Malik, tearing at him, burning his very essence. It took only a few seconds for Ra's attack to incinerate Malik's body, seconds that seemed like hours to everyone. When it was over, nothing remained but ashes.   
  
Dalin extended his right hand, displaying the four-fingered ring upon it, and for the first time Yami recognized exactly what circled his fingers. It was the God of Osiris, biting down on his own tail. "Here me mortals! The Servant of Osiris has struck down the guilty one and carried out his duty by devouring the guilty one's soul. Fear for yourselves for if you should prove to be as guilty as this one was then your soul may well feed the devourer's unsatiable hunger. Ammut has spoken!"  
  
__________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Notes: I know there are a lot of cards many of you didn't recognize, that is because they are from the newest set in japan, Sanctuary of the Sky. Malik and Dalin each played a card of my creation. Dalin used Greedy Sacrifice and Malik used Damage Reducer. My cards! No stealing! However if you ask nicely I'll give you permission to use them, though they aren't all that impressive over all.   
  
Next Time: The Next Few Duels of the finals commence, starting with Kensai's first duel in the finals against Mai Valentine. Can his warrior's defeat her harpies, or is he doomed from the start? Also Autumn steps up to the plate and soon reveals two secrets, the spirits that reside within her, and the awesome power her deck is capable of... 


	11. Adam, Eve, and the Loop of Infinity

Disclaimer: Oh bloody hell, you should know by now I don't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Chapter Ten: Adam, Eve, and the Loop of Infinity  
  
Twenty-seven minutes had past since Dalin had announced that any of them who he deemed guilty wold have their souls devoured. Roughly ten minutes ago Yugi had approached Rishid to get an answer to exactly what Dalin was. In the process he discovered that Bakura's room was empty, and Bakura was nowhere to be found.   
  
At twenty-eight minutes Yugi and his friends were frantically searching the blimp for any sign of their strange friend. So far they hadn't managed to find even a trace of him. Meanwhile Dalin sat with Rishid, discussing the same thing that Yugi had wanted to discuss. He was afraid, and fear did not suit well with him.   
  
At twenty-nine minutes Yug and his friends had finally given up in their search and had gone to find Kaiba to get his staff's help in locating Bakura. Taichi was busy watching everyone from the security room, nearby the guard lay in a heap, blood slowly draining out of the side of his head.   
  
At twenty-nine and a half minutes Drake Ihachi could be found flirting shamelessly with Kirani, who was either oblivious to his attempts or simply wanted to lead him on. Kensai watched this in good humor and found that he could laugh quite easily about the situation. Ryu on the other hand sat in a corner meditating...or maybe he was sleeping, Kensai couldn't be quite certain.   
  
Autumn and Hinata stood away from the other's in the room and were busy talking heatedly about something. Based on the gestures made towards Ryu, Kensai was fairly certain he was what they were discussing. Perhaps they both had a crush on him? It was peaceful moments like this that allowed Kensai to contemplate his own reasons for being here.  
  
***********************  
  
The wind whistled through the trees, shaking lose sakura blossoms and sending them spiraling through the air. It was beautiful. "Kyaaa!"   
  
Takuya Shinomori snapped his leg out in a neat roundhouse that connected with the punching with such force that the chain snapped, knocking it to the ground. He lowered his leg and dropped to his knees, breathing hard. For the past two and a half hours he had been pounding away against the bag, just a little practice for endurance.   
  
"Quite impressive Kensai, quite impressive. But though you have great skill and strength you can never become a true martial artist the way you are going at things."  
  
Takuya, who had taken the nickname Kensai when he joined the Geokigo dojo, was a tough looking boy of fourteen. He had a very focused demeanor while practicing, but when his master began to speak about such things he became confused, they just didn't mean much to him. He couldn't understand it.   
  
"What does that mean Sensei? I don't understand. Please explain it to me."  
  
His master, a tall man in his fifties with completely gray hair smiled down at the kneeling boy and held something out. "A true martial artist is balanced in both body and mind. You must always remember that." With that his master turned and walked away.  
  
Takuya looked down at what his master and handed him and stared at it in confusion. It was a card with a picture of a warrior in black armor. "Chaos Soldier..."  
  
***************************  
  
At exactly thirty minutes the referree started up the bingo machine, and mere seconds later the first duelist of the next match was selected. "Mai Valentine please report to the dueling field, if you do not report in five minutes you will be disqualified."  
  
Kensai glanced around, trying to see if he could see here, but it didn't seem like she was in the room. She must be with Yugi and the rest of those people. "The second duelist for the next match is Takuya Shinomori!"  
  
Kensai stood, and shook his head in disgust. "I'm forced to face a woman in a duel? What sort of joke is this? Women can't fight and they can't duel, so why must I be the one to face her?"   
  
"EXCUSE ME?" Kensai turned to see Mai Valentine stalking into the room, fists raised, her eyes ablaze with fury. He sighed at this sight. Anger wouldn't accomplish anything, it would only make you slip up. Women were always to caught up in their emotions and that was why they couldn't fight or duel. You had to have a clear head in order to fight successfully.   
  
"I don't suppose it matters. I'll beat you in five turns and then I can get back to resting up. So please, lets get to the dueling field quickly so that we can get this over with." Mai stalked past him, completely ignoring him and entered the elevator. Kensai followed, and she proceeded to continue ignoring him as they rose up to the dueling field.   
  
As soon as they got there Mai chose her spot on the field, letting Kensai take the other. He glanced around to see who had come up, and saw Kaiba, Drake, Kirani, Autumn, Hinata, and Ryu standing there watching. Kirani, Autumn, and Hinata were all glaring at him, apparently upset about his comments about women. Ryu was...well it couldn't be meditating if he was snoring now could it? How he had gotten up here Kensai had no idea.   
  
"You've insulted women in general and me in particular, and that's something I just won't tolerate, so I'll take the first turn and it'll only take ME five turns to beat you!" Mai fiercely snapped a sixth card off the top of her deck and slammed a card down onto the DD2.  
  
"I summon Amazon Pet Tiger(1100/150) in attack modce. I'll set one magic or trap card face down and end my turn." Kensai examined her orange furred monster, wondering whether it had any special effect to make it worth while as its stats were pathetic. Of course it meant she used Amazon cards, something only a woman would do.   
  
Kensai slipped another card off his duel disk and looked at it carefully, the card would certainly work perfectly with his strategy. "I play Painful Choice. This magic card lets me select five cards in my deck and you have to choose one of them. The one you choose goes into my hand, the other four are sent to the cemetery."   
  
Mai watched him carefully as he searched through his deck for nearly a minute before coming up with the five cards he wanted. He approached Mai and showed them to her, revealing two Swift Black Ninjas, and three Wandering Hero Freeds. "I'll select one of your Freeds, just so I can get rid of those ninjas. If you start using ninja monsters I'm going to get really pissed."  
  
Kensai slid the other four cards into his cemetery slot and added Wandering Hero Freed into his hand. He glanced at Mai curiously as he headed back to his side. "What about ninjas pisses you off so much?"  
  
"I had a run in with an annoying guy named Magnum who used ninja monsters, it happened to be a really annoying duel." Kensai started laughing. How perfect could you get?  
  
"I myself had a run in with Magnum. It was my very first duel in Battle City..."  
  
**************  
  
Magnum stood across from him, smirking at the situation. He had two Ninja Master Shoguns on the field, one floating high above on a kite that allowed him to attack directly by sacrificing one monster. He had two weak ninjas in defense mode and his second Shogun in attack, protected by the Ninja Rights Act, which wouldn't let any monster without ninja in its name attack as long as the Shogun he had selected remained on the field. (KLP: 2300, MLP: 4000)  
  
"I'll end my turn after that direct attack, soon it'll all be over since your warriors can't attack me. Two more turns is all I'll need to defeat you, and I already have the monster sacrifices I need!"  
  
Kensai smirked as he drew his card, looking over his Wandering Hero Freed on the field and his face down monster. "I flip my Troop Commander(1200/1900) into attack mode, which reveals his special ability to power up my warriors by four hundred points. (WHF: 2100/1200) Next I play Calling Reinforcements to let me select one warrior sub-type monster in my deck and add it to my hand, shuffling my deck afterwards."  
  
"Very well, continue as you were."  
  
"I summon Marauding Captain(1600/400), whose special effect lets me special summon another level four monster from my hand onto the field, so I summon the second Marauding Captain. His summoning lets me summon yet another warrior type from my hand, so I'll special summon Swift Black Ninja(2100/1200) in attack mode! I'll next play the field card Sogen, powering up all warrior and beast-warrior sub-type monsters on the field."  
  
(Mcs: 1800/600, WHF: 2300/1400, SBN: 2300/1200, TC: 1400/2100, NMS: 1800/1400)  
  
Magnum's hands began to shake as he looked upon Kensai's assembled army of powerful monsters. What was worse was that as soon as the Swift Black Ninja destroyed his Shogun, then he'd be free to cut into his other monsters and his life points. "This can't be happening!"  
  
"Swift Black Ninja, destroy his Shogun!"  
  
****************************  
  
"Yeah, it was a pretty interesting duel. It was a pity I couldn't knock Magnum out of the tournament, but at the time I only had one locator card and he had two."   
  
"Like I care, just make your move already!" Kensai shrugged and picked out the three cards he wanted to play. It would soon be over.   
  
"By removing one light type and one dark type from my cemetery I can special summon one of the strongest monsters in the entire game. Chaos Soldier-Messenger of the Beginning(3000/2500)! I'll also power him up with the extremely rare and powerful equip card, Axe of Despair, to raise his attack strength to 4000!"   
  
Chaos Soldier shimmered into view, and snatched the axe that appeared beside him, arming him with two weapons, his sword and the axe. "I also summon Wandering Hero Freed(1700/1200) in attack mode!"   
  
The next monster that appeared was a blond warrior in armor, with a sword at his side and a red cape flaring out behind him. "Chaos Soldier, attack and destroy her monster with your Chaos Blade attack!" Chaos Soldier swept his blade in a downwards arc, sending a wave of energy at the tiger. To Kensai's surprise the tiger leapt over the wave of energy and charged at Chaos Soldier. With a sweep of its claws, the Chaos Soldier was destroyed. "Impossible!"  
  
"Not at all, my face down Amazon Gypsy card did all the work for me. When activated I select one monster with amazon in its name on the field and swap its attack with the attack of one of my opponent's face up monster. While in battle with that monster the two monster's attack strengths are switched, making your soldier's attack a mere 1100 and my tiger's attack at 4000."   
  
Kensai clenched his fist trying to hold in his anger. His favorite monster cut down on his first turn, and all because he was so convinced that this woman was a terrible duelist that he didn't even consider her face down card! He was an idiot! "Fine then, but now that its not battling my soldier its attack strength is once again pathetic, so Freed will cut it down to size!"   
  
Freed swept his blade through the tiger's neck in one swift sweep, separating its head from its body and destroying it. (KLP: 1100, MLP: 3400) "I end my turn."  
  
Mai smirked and drew her next card. "You really aren't worth my time at all. So I'll set one card face down and summon Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) in attack mode. Cyber Harpy will destroy your Freed!" Kensai stood strong as his last remaining defense was destroyed in front of his very eyes. (KLP: 1000)  
  
"Now that its my turn I'll play Warrior Reborn, to take one warrior sub-type monster from my cemetery and add it to my hand. So of course I select Chaos Soldier and special summon it by removing another light and another dark monster from my cemetery. I also summon Troop Commander(1200/1900) who powers my soldier up to 3400 attack. Chaos Soldier, destroy her harpy!"  
  
For the second time in that duel the surprising happened, three robed men appeared and blocked off Chaos Soldier's attack. "Sorry hon, but I won't let you destroy my harpy that easily. Waboku stops your attack."   
  
Kensai nodded and slipped another card into his duel disk. "I'll just set one card face down and end my turn."  
  
"Alright, now I play Tribute to the Doomed, and by discarding one card from my hand I can destroy on of your monsters, and I'm selecting Chaos Soldier!" Kensai groaned as yet again his Chaos Soldier bit the dust, this time dragged to its death wrapped up like a mummy.   
  
"Cyber Harpy, destroy his Troop Commander!" With a swift sweep of its wings Kensai's Troop Commander was no more. (KLP: 400, MLP: 2700)  
  
"I chained your attack with Attack and Receive, which deals you seven hundred damage. Now that its my turn I think I'll take this duel back under my control. I play Pot of Greed. Next I summon Seven Weapons Hunter(1000/600) in attack mode and select the sub-type of your Cyber Harpy!"  
  
"What does that mean?"  
  
Kensai snickered and gestured to his heavily armed warrior, who put up his sword and looked through his numerous weapons before picking up a bow and arrow. "When I summon this monster I must select one sub-type, in this case Winged Beast, and during battle with said sub-type my monster will gain 1000 attack points during the damage step. To further increase my chances I'll equip him with Fusion Arms Murasame Blade to increase his attack to 1800. I attack!"  
  
Seven Weapons Hunter pierced the Cyber Harpy with a single shot from his bow and arrows, taking it down and destroying it. (MLP: 1700) "I set one magic or trap card and end my turn. Back to you Mai."  
  
Mai drew and weighed her options. She couldn't summon another winged beast type, otherwise he'd just rip through it. She had one card that was capable of defeating the beefed up Seven Weapons Hunter, but there was no telling what his face down card was. "I summon Unfriendly Amazon(2000/1000) and have it attack Seven Weapons Hunter."   
  
The armored woman took a swing at the taller man with her blade, but he managed to avoid it and launched an arrow directly at Mai. During this moment of distraction the Unfriendly Amazon scored a hit to the warrior's chest, killing it instantly. (KLP: 200, MLP: 700) "You should know by know Mai, that if you attack, then you'll have to receive. Your attack activated my second Attack and Receive trap card, doing the seven hundred damage to you, plus three hundred extra because of the first one in my cemetery."  
  
"Oh shut up. I end my turn." Kensai smirked despite the fact that he was behind and in a bad position. He needed something good otherwise he'd lose pretty quickly. The one disadvantage of Mai's female warrior was that she had to sacrifice a monster to it during her next standby phase or she'd have to destroy it, and since she had no monsters and couldn't summon during the main phase, that could work to Kensai's advantage.   
  
He drew and laughed in triumph. "Mai, I just drew one of the cards in my deck that can insure my victory. I just drew Swift Knight Gaia(2300/2100). When he's the only card in my hand I can special summon him to the field, which I will!"   
  
Mai involuntarily stepped backwards as the powerful knight road out of his card and onto the field. Not only was it more powerful then her warrior, but she had nothing to block the attack with. "Gaia, attack and destroy Unfriendly Amazon!"   
  
The knight charged across the field and speared Unfriendly Amazon with his joust, hurling her backwards and destroying her. (MLP: 400) The score was almost tied and now Kensai had the strongest monster out, whereas Mai's field was empty.   
  
Mai snagged her next card and let out a sigh of relief. She now had the cards to beat him without giving him the satisfaction of knowing that she had to use his monster to win. Now she could beat him her way. "I play Monster Reborn to revive the monster I discarded for Tribute to the Doomed's effect, Harpy's Pet Dragon(2000/2500)." The dragon took the field, letting out a shrill cry of defiance. Gaia's mount whinnied and pawed his hooves against the ground, agitated by the presence of Mai's dragon.   
  
"You see, no woman should fight or duel, its their emotions that cloud their judgement. You refused to revive my Chaos Soldier from the graveyard because it was mine, and I insulted you. Here you are, trying to succeed with your own strength, when had you borrowed from mine you could have won."  
  
Mai smirked and slapped down her next card with glee. "Apparently you don't know my dragon's effect. It gains three hundred attack points for every Harpy Lady on the field. Since the monster I'm summoning is Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) my dragon's attack increases to 2300, equal to your knight's attack strength. Harpy's Pet Dragon, roast that knight!"  
  
Kensai stood strong as the dragon's fire burnt his knight to a crisp, even as the knight stabbed his joust into the dragon's belly. Both of them exploded into holographic particles at the same time, leaving Kensai wide open for a direct attack. "Cyber Harpy, show him what us ladies can do!"   
  
The harpy swooped down and tackled Kensai, knocking him into the railing directly behind him. It was all over. (KLP: 0) He sighed as the projectors deactivated and the ref declared Mai the winner. "Congratulations Mai, I guess I was wrong about you were capable of." He extended his hand to her.   
  
She strode past his outstretched hand, refusing to shake it. "Whatever. Maybe losing to a woman will make you change your opinion of us. But...good job anyway. For an amateur that is."   
  
Kensai shrugged and jumped down from his place on the field, ready to relax for the next thirty minutes before he got to watch a hopefully exciting duel. Maybe Mai was right, maybe women could duel. Maybe he'd find out, two of the six remaining duelists were women, so chances were that they'd be paired up against a man. As he entered the elevator he noticed one thing that just made his day.   
  
Ryu was still fast asleep.  
  
***************************  
  
Twenty-five minutes had past since the duel between Kensai and Mai, but Yugi and his friends had been unable to find Bakura. Giving that up, Yugi had gone to speak with Rishid, and had learned what Dalin had learned.   
  
Yugi was shocked to discover that Dalin was merely a human incarnation of an Egyptian demon called Ammut, the Devourer of Souls. Apparently this beast played a large role in the process of judgement after death, for when a person was judged to have a heavy soul, they were given to Ammut who would devour their soul.   
  
According to Rishid the myths about Ammut were only part of the truth. It turned out that Osiris had created Ammut in order to keep the Shadow Realm from growing stronger, because whenever a person with a heavy soul was cast down, the darkness in their soul would feed the Shadow Realm and make it stronger. By devouring those souls, Ammut was actually steadily weakening the Shadow Realm.   
  
At twenty-six minutes after the previous duel, Drake was busy flirting with Kirani again. Just as before she seemed totally unaware of his efforts. Hinata and Autumn were arguing once again about something or another, and Kensai sat cross-legged in a corner meditating. Ryu...was still sleeping.  
  
At twenty-eight minutes past, Yugi was deep in conversation with his other half about what they had just learned. His friends stood outside his door, listening in to his conversation, trying to find out about Dalin. Dalin himself stood at the very front of the Battle Blimp and on top of it. The wind whipped about him at dangerous speeds, but not even a single hair on his head shifted. He stood there and contemplated what he was, wondering exactly what role he would have to play. There had to be a reason that he had been incarnated in a human form.  
  
At that same moment, Taichi Nobuki was staring at the Millennium Rod, Millennium Ring, and Millennium Eye, contemplating them. However he was not alone in his contemplation, for from within a dark corner of his mind, the dark spirit that had possessed Malik watched very carefully. He had cut a deal with Taichi Nobuki, and his hikari's soul was devoured in order to save the dark spirit.   
  
Taichi had told him that he was going to lose to Dalin and have his soul devoured. The dark spirit had laughed this off, thinking that it would be impossible for someone to beat him while he possessed Ra. However, when Taichi explained how he knew, the dark spirit was forced to cut a deal. At the last moment, right before his soul was to be devoured, Taichi would use his magic to switch the part that was taken. Dalin had devoured the soul of the real Malik and he remained unaware of this.   
  
At thirty minutes, Ryu was still sleeping. "The first duelist in the next duel is Autumn Kurai. Please report to the dueling ring immediately." Autumn nodded and headed to the elevator, Kensai, Drake, and Kirani at her heels.   
  
"The second duelist is Ryu Shigeru. Will Ryu Shigeru please report to the dueling ring imediately." Silence followed. Hinata rolled her eyes and looked around for a moment before spotting Ryu, sleeping.   
  
"Honestly Ryu, you could sleep through the end of the world." Grinning to herself she grabbed a glass of punch from the food table nearby and stalked over to Ryu. He'd wake up, but he might be a little upset with her.  
  
********************  
  
Autumn giggled furiously as Ryu took his spot across from her. He glowered back at her, trying to ignore how cold it was with the wind blowing against his now wet t-shirt. "Look, I don't want to duel you Autumn, so lets just get this done with as quickly as we can."  
  
Autumn managed to nod through her giggles and Ryu continued to glower as he drew his opening hand of six cards. "I'll summon Dark Zebra(1800/400) in attack mode and place one card face down behind it. That's all for now."  
  
Autumn finally managed to calm down as she drew her sixth card, however she seemed rather upset about something. "Ryu...I don't want to duel you either. So forgive me for letting Misuno take over."  
  
"Huh?" Ryu got his answer fairly quickly as Autumn's demeanor changed, her brow furrowed and she seemed to focus more as well. The oddest part was that her hair seemed to be rougher then it had before, spiking out in several places.   
  
"I set one monster in defense mode, and play the Swords of Revealing Light!" Glowing green swords slammed down to lock Ryu into place for three turns.   
  
"All your doing is stalling. Who are you anyway?" Misuno laughed and opened her hand. A golden light formed in the shape of a staff and slowly that staff materialized. Ryu didn't even have to look to know that on the head of it was the same eye that appeared on every other Millennium Item.   
  
"I am the dark spirit that resides within the Millennium Staff. I was forced into this staff along with my twin sister roughly five hundred years after the creation of the item itself. Now I inhabit this girl and when I'm needed I take control. Its not as good as actually being alive, but being able to truly see, hear, and breath for a short time is astounding compared to what I can do without her." He smirked and motioned for Ryu to continue.   
  
"I don't know why Autumn accepts you being in her body, but that's her decision. For myself, I wouldn't want a single part of some inner spirit like you. Now watch out as I sacrifice Dark Zebra for the Summoned Skull(2500/1200) and equip it with Horn of the Unicorn, boosting its power by seven hundred points!"   
  
The demon appeared and let out a fierce roar, seconds later a glowing silver horn appeared on its forehead. The demon attempted to swat it off, but after several unsuccessful attempts it gave up. Misuno smirked and snapped a card off his deck. "I set one monster in defense mode and end my turn. Back to you lover boy!"  
  
Ryu rolled his eyes and grabbed another card. He couldn't let this annoying jerk get to him, all he had to do was keep dueling and he'd be fine. "I summon Battle Ox(1700/1000) in attack mode, and equip Summoned Skull with Malevolent Nuzzler boosting his attack by another seven hundred points!"   
  
A demonic woman appeared out of the card and stepped up to the demon, massaging his shoulders. Next to the skull now stood a fierce minotaur wielding an axe, both monsters appeared ready for battle, but the swords still kept them from attacking. Misuno drew his next and let out a highly exaggerated sigh. "It's a pity that you weren't a better duelist Ryu, otherwise this might have been more fun than it is. I guess I'll just have to end it right now."  
  
Ryu's eyes widened and he looked over Misuno's field. All he had was two defense monsters, and there was no way those two monsters could win him the duel so quickly. "You're bluffing, you can't win in one turn with the kind of cards you've got out."  
  
Misuno smirked and slowly pulled one card from his hand and placed it on the field, picking up his first defense monster as he did so, sacrificing it. "Allow me to explain something about this deck. You see it has parts of myself, my twin, and Autumn in it. I supplied the dark, my twin the light, and Autumn supplied the deadliest factor of all. Her loop combos!"  
  
The card Misuno had just played appeared on the field, and from it burst forth the Gilfar Demon(2200/2500) a monster that Ryu knew as sort of a weaker counterpart to the Talwar Demon. "Loop combos? What the hell are you talking about?"   
  
"I'll show you. Gilfar Demon, attack his Summoned Skull!" The flying demon let loose a stream of fire from its mouth, but the Summoned Skull merely batted the fire aside with one of its wings. Then the demon retaliated with a bolt of lightning that struck the Gilfar Demon and blew it into pieces. (A/MLP:1800)   
  
"I don't know what you're playing at, but by attacking you not only got a face full of my Summoned Skull, but you also got hit by the added power from my Reinforcements cards, boosting him during that brief moment by five hundred points."   
  
Misuno smirked and motioned to his other monster, which had just appeared on the field. It was a small humanoid creature made out of leaves. It had pathetic stats of (900/400) but as he watched they decreased to (400/400). "What's going on Misuno?"  
  
He smirked and clenched his fists tightly together. "It's the Loop of Infinity! You see, when Gilfar Demon goes to the cemetery he may become an equip card on one monster, decreasing that monster's attack by five hundred. I equipped him on Leaf Fairy, whose effect sends Gilfar to the cemetery again and deals five hundred damage to your life points. (RLP: 3500) Of course since Gilfar is in the cemetery I can equip him onto a monster, namely Leaf Fairy, once again activating its effect. (RLP: 3000) Are you beginning to get the picture?"  
  
The cards fell from Ryu's hands as he dropped to his knees in horror. It was impossible! If the same thing happened every time then soon enough...(RLP: 0) He closed his eyes and groaned as the referee announced his defeat. It just didn't seem possible that he could have lost so quickly, or that such a deadly combo could exist.   
  
"Thanks for the duel Autumn, even if it didn't last very long."   
  
____________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: THE LOOP OF INFINITY DOES NOT WORK! Just a little note there. Once Leaf Fairy was put out the ruling on Gilfar Demon was changed so that it didn't activate if Gilfar is sent to the cemetery and an effect is activated such as Leaf Fairy's 500 damage. So it would go to the cemetery but not become an equip card again. That is all.   
  
Next Time: Drake finally gets his chance to show his stuff in a duel in the finals, but his first opponent can only be one of three people. Kirani, Kaiba, or Taichi? Who will he face and what does his duel have in store for him? You'll just have to read to find out. 


	12. Duel With A Champion

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh and I can't state that any simpler then I just have. If you don't get that by now I pity you.   
  
Chapter Eleven: Humbling a Champion  
  
The countdown had begun. In less then twenty-four hours from this very moment the world would end, and nobody would be alive to complain about it. Dalin took in a deep, calming breath and let it out. Then he hung his head in disappointment. That sort of breathing was supposed to help you relax. He was still horribly tense!   
  
Its hard not to be stressed when you're aware that unless something is done to prevent it, the apocalypse will be taking place within a day. Letting out an overly loud sigh he rose from his position and stalked out the door, heading for the room of Yugi Motou. He had a conversation with a spirit waiting for him, and he was going to get some answers no matter how long it took.  
  
******************************  
  
Only a short time remained until Drake would finally get the chance to prove himself in the finals of a Duel Monsters tournament. He couldn't exactly say that he was calm, but at least he was composed and in control of himself.   
  
"WHOOHOO!" Okay, so he wasn't really composed and in control. Instead he was jumping around his room shirtless and in boxers doing the official happy dance. In a corner of the room, on a table, all of his stuff lay. His shirt, his pants, his leather jacket, and his most prized possession. His deck. It was that very deck and his own determination that had gotten him all the way to the finals.   
  
He understood very well that some of the people in the finals were there because they had some "greater" purpose. But for him, it was simply the joy of the duel and the challenge. He had been hoping to put the beat down on Malik, but now the lunatic was dead, and good riddance to him at that.   
  
There was also something else different about his first duel. Despite his determination to win, and his promise to his sister, he wasn't going to wear his Millennium Disc in his next duel. The last duel he saw, with the spirit from Autumn's Millennium Item taking over, made Drake contemplate his own. He didn't know if it made him a better duelist then anyone else, but he wanted to duel at least once in this tournament without it, just to be sure.   
  
So, to display his happiness at the impending duel, Drake had decided to dance. Now Drake was an excellent when it came to dueling. He was great to have in a brawl. But if there was one thing he was truly horrible at, it was dancing. "OOOF!"   
  
Yes indeed, Drake was truly an amazing dancer. Some bad dancers had two left feet and this was apparently a very bad thing to have when dancing. Drake on the other hand seemed to have three left feet. If two was bad, three certainly had to much worse. At least that was his excuse for tripping over his own feet and landing flat on his face.   
  
"Note to self. From now on, stick to dueling and fighting. NO DANCING."  
  
****************************  
  
Across this blimp another duelist was thinking ahead to the upcoming duels. Kaiba was in the middle of coming up with a strategy for defeating Dalinin a duel as brute force wouldn't work on a duelist like that. He ran over the cards in his deck several times, considering each of them, weighing them against the cards he had seen Dalin use.   
  
As far as he could tell his best strategy would be to use his Crush Card combo, that would throw him off balance for certain. Then he could work his way from there. Smirking in satisfaction at himself he rose from his spot and picked his deck up. Hopefully he could soon defeat Taichi, claim the Toon World card, and rip it into pieces.   
  
Only four duelists remained for the first round. Himself, Taichi, Kirani, and his own employee Drake. The chances were quite great that he'd face Taichi in his first duel, and based on the way he had decided to tier the tournament, his second duel would be against Autumn. Then he would face either Drake or Kirani in the semi-finals as whoever won the last duel would get a by. After defeating whoever made it to the semi-finals he'd make his way into the final duel, to most likely face Yugi and once and for all regain his honor.  
  
He had everything planned out perfectly. There was absolutely nothing that could go wrong. He was the best duelist in the world, and he would win. There was no doubt of that in his mind whatsoever.  
  
************************  
  
"Drake? Are you in there?" Drake bolted upright at the sound of Kirani's voice and looked around frantically for his clothing. Spotting it he made a made dash for it, and started pulling his things on as fast as he could. There was no time to spare!  
  
"Give me a second!" Drake grimaced in horror as he heard the sound of the door being opened. He wasn't ready yet, he was still shirtless! Desperately making a grab for his shirt Drake succeeded in knocking his jacket over and tangling his legs in it. With a crash he hit the floor a second time with equally painful results.   
  
When Kirani entered the room she found Drake sitting with his back against the couch and rubbing his head, groaning about something. She frowned but shrugged it off and approached him. "Hey Drake. I wanted to talk to you before the next duel, since it will most likely be one of the two of us who has to duel. It could even be me versus you."  
  
Drake nodded and stood up, gesturing to the couch. She sat down and he took a seat across from her on the wooden table, watching her intently. "That's true. So what did you want to talk to me about?"   
  
She smiled and took her deck from her pocket and idly thumbed through it. Once she spotted the card she was looking for she slipped it out and extended it to the sixteen year old in front of her. She wasn't sure why she had chosen him as a friend, but it probably had something to do with their similar positions. She was a Rare Hunter, he was a Rare Hunter, and both of them loved to duel and were equally determined to improve themselves as much as possible.   
  
"Here, take this card. I feel like we've become friends and I want you to have a card from my deck to represent that friendship. Both of us want to win this thing, or at least prove our own strength before we get defeated, so a common bond between us means we need a bond between our decks. That's this card."   
  
Drake took the card and stared at it, mostly to avoid staring at her. A sign of friendship. Well it was a start. He grinned and snatched his jacket up from the floor. Grabbing one of his two extras piles (each roughly the size of a deck) and started searching through it.   
  
"You know Kirani, I've never quite seen the point in a single thing connecting people. I guess that's why there are always two rings when a couple gets married. Its to connect them on both sides. So I figure I can't accept this card as a sign of our friendship without giving you one in return."   
  
Grinning as he finally came across the card he was lucky for he held it out to her in order to complete the exchange. Kirani accepted it and smiled as she looked down at it. It was quite the card at that, and she wondered if it was a fair trade. "Its not Blue Eyes, but I think it fits you."   
  
Smiling the smile that made his heart melt Kirani leaned forward and wrapped her arms around Drake in a warm hug, embarrassing him. Slowly she pulled back and flashed him another smile before standing up. "If you duel next, good luck before hand."  
  
Drake grinned and stood up as well, towering a good half a foot over her. "Thanks. Same to you." Kirani smiled and accepted the hand he extended. With a quick shake the two felt completely ready for the next duel. Whatever the result, they would have tried their hardest and would have shown their true strength. That was all that they needed.   
  
"You're not wearing your necklace. This is the only time I've seen you without it on." Drake glanced at the Millennium Disc that sat on the table behind him and shrugged. Picking up his deck and sliding it into the slot on his duel disc he smirked and pulled his leather jacket on before strapping the DD2 to his arm.   
  
"Like you said. The goal is to show our true strength, and I want to make sure that I'm as good as I think I am without it. What it represents is always inside me, so I won't wear it just this once." Grinning to each other, the two duelists walked out of the room and towards the bingo room. Whatever happened next would happen, but they would be strong no matter what.  
  
*************************  
  
Yugi looked over at the man standing in front of him and wondered exactly what he wanted. Supposedly he was a good person, but Yugi had Yami with him just in case Sumatin tried anything. "What do you want?"  
  
Dalin didn't answer in words. Instead he pointed to the puzzle that hung around Yugi's neck. Yugi gripped the puzzle in his hands and in a flash of light he changed into his darker side, Yami. "Now you show your true colors Sumatin. I should have known. Well if you want to get my puzzle you'll have to defeat me first, and this time I don't that will happen."  
  
Dalin shook his head in amusement and reached out to touch the puzzle before Yami could stop him. The instant he laid his hand upon it there was a flash of light, and a vacant expression took over Dalin's eyes. Yami stumbled backwards away from the much larger man and watched in horror as Dalin simply collapsed to the floor, eyes glazed over.   
  
Yugi stared at Dalin's prone form and in spirit form turned to his partner to ask him a question. "What just happened Yami, whats going on?"  
  
Yami continued to stare at Dalin, resting his hands upon the puzzle without even thinking about it. "He's inside the puzzle...and I can't get in."  
  
*************************  
  
Taichi Nobuki watched the bingo balls spin within the machine going faster and faster. In moments the first duelist of the sixth match would be selected. Idly he considered tampering with the machine's decision using his magic, but decided against it. If he did tamper with the machine then anyone with similar magic would detect it and suspect him of something foul.  
  
Of course, they'd be right, but he didn't want anyone to know that quite yet. Not until he dueled would they known, and then they'd fear him. Oh yeas how they would fear him! He could see it now, feel their fear already. How joyous it would be! Supressing his laughter he smirked as they first bingo ball was selected, and the first duelist chosen.  
  
"The first duelist of the sixth match is Seto Kaiba!" Kaiba smirked from his spot across the room. There was one step, now all that was necessary was for the second duelist to be chosen and for him to defeat whoever it was. He turned his head, letting his steely gaze fall upon Taichi. The dark haired boy merely smirked at him and pointed to a card he held in his hand. Toon World.   
  
The punk was taunting him with the card he hated! Holding back his anger he turned away, waiting for the second bingo ball to be chosen and hoping for Taichi to be selected. He'd win, and then he'd go on and take each of the god cards one by one. Nothing and nobody could stand in the way of his goal.   
  
"The second duelist of the sixth match is Daisuke Ihachi. Will both duelists make their way to the Stratos Dueling Field?" When his name was called Drake stepped back in shock. He had been hyped up for his first duel, but he had completely forgotten that Kaiba was one of the duelists remaining. He had to face Kaiba in a duel?   
  
Taking a deep calming breath, and discovering that calming breaths didn't work, he walked to the elevator and rode it up to the top with Kaiba. Once there, the two took opposite sides of the ring and activated their duel discs. Kaiba smirked as he drew his opening hand. "I crushed you last time, so I think it only fair that the loser goes first."  
  
Drake snarled and pulled a card from his deck. He took a good luck at his hand and started to form a strategy. Perhaps he could get rid of Kaiba's strongest cards all in one fell swoop. "First off I'll set a monster in defense mode. Next I'll play the magic card Magical Bouquet. When I've got even one spellcaster on the field or in my cemetery I can activate this magic card and search my deck for one magic card of my choosing and add that card to my hand."  
  
A bouquet of flowers appeared on the field and rolled up, sending the flowers scattering across the field. As it did so a card appeared and hovered in mid-air. Drake took his deck out and searched through it, once he came across the one he wanted he added it to his hand and shuffled his deck. The hovering card vanished as he did so, giving him what he needed to put his strategy into effect.   
  
"I now set one more card face down and end my turn. Now I guess the turn is back to you oh all mighty one!" Kaiba sneered and grabbed his sixth card. He too had a strategy that could easily bring him victory. But to do so he'd have to be sparing with his cards.   
  
"I don't care what strategy you're working on Drake, even if you have one. You can't possibly defeat my deck. I've proven that before and I'll prove it again. To do so I set one card and summon Kaiser Seahorse(1700/1650) in attack mode!"   
  
A blue-skinned reptilian warrior wielding a trident took its place on Kaiba's sword and aimed its weapon at Drake's face down monster. "Seahorse huh? Thats rather ironic now isn't it KAIBA? (A.N.-Kaiba means seahorse.)" Kaiba smirked and lifted his arm to point at Drake's defense monster.   
  
"Kaiser Seahorse, crush his defenses!" The reptilian warrior hefted his trident and, with one moment heave of its arm, hurled the trident straight at Drake's defensive monster. At the last moment the Mystical Elf appeared and started chanting. A green glow surrounded the female elf and at the last moment the trident stopped.   
  
Kaiba grimaced as the trident reversed direction and went straight at his Kaiser Seahorse. The warrior snatched it out of the air but the force of its flight pushed the monster back into Kaiba, slamming him into the ground. (KLP: 3700) "Looks like the lead belongs to me Kaiba, and I haven't even attacked yet."  
  
Drake smirked and snapped a card off his deck. All he needed was to lure Kaiba's monsters onto the field and then his plan could come into action. He grinned as he slipped his first card into one of the magic/trap slots and pressed the activation button. "I play Dian Keto the Cure Master!"   
  
A fat robed woman was revealed and she sent a globe of light towards Drake's DD2. However at that moment a fairy appeared on the opposite side of the duel and rushed over. Using an oversized mirror the fairy reflected the orb at Kaiba who smirked as his life points rose. (KLP: 4700) "My Fairy's Hand Mirror is perfect for stealing your card's effects. So now who has the lead?"  
  
Drake grimaced at the sudden change in life points for Kaiba. He had hoped to put himself farther into the lead, but now he was behind. Shaking it off he slapped a monster card down on the field, sacrificing his elf to do so. "I sacrifice my Mystical Elf for once monster in defense mode. That'll end my turn."  
  
Kaiba smirked as he saw the white image on the card he had just drawn. Just the sort of card he needed to keep this duel in his favor. "Its time I use Kaiser Seahorse's effect, the light-speed summon ability! So I sacrifice Kaiser Seahorse for the Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500)."   
  
Kaiba's laughter chilled Drake as the massive dragon reared up on the field, horribly realistic with the advanced holographic technology at work. Amongst normal monsters the Blue Eyes had virtually unparalleled attack strength. "Blue Eyes...BURST STREAM!"   
  
The Blue Eyes opened its jaws wide and let a huge stream of raw energies rush forth from its mouth. And those energies were headed straight for Drake's defensive monster. Drake let out a cry as the blast exploded in front of him, showering him in light and temporarily blinding him. Kaiba smirked. When the smoke faded Drake would be defenseless.   
  
***********************  
  
It was a maze and a very complex one at that. But then again, Dalin wasn't even remotely interested in finding his through this maze. All he needed to do was talk to the spirit and get some answers, so that required calling the spirit out into the open, not searching for him.   
  
"BAKURA! Come out now. I am Dalin Sumatin and I wish to speak to you on a matter of great importance." Laughter was the first thing he heard, laughter that seemed to come from every direction at once. Dalin simply refused to play this game and remained staring straight ahead.   
  
"You wish to speak to me of a matter of great importance? Or do you simply wish to devour my dark soul as you tried to do three thousand years ago? I remember you being quite disappointed when you found yourself unable to gain access to me in the Millennium Ring."  
  
Dalin turned around slowly, coming face to face with the spirit of the Millennium Ring. Yami Bakura as he might be called. Dalin stared the King of Thieves straight in the eyes and spoke in a cold and determined voice. "I remember nothing of those days, and only a few times has any part of who I used to be come through. Specifically at the end of my duel with Malik. That is how I known of myself as Ammut."  
  
Bakura smirked, circling Dalin like some sort of predatory beast, ready to strike at any moment. "Just like the Pharaoh in that sense aren't you? Well tell me. What's in it for me if I help you?"   
  
A burst of silver light picked Bakura off his feet and slammed him into a nearby wall, stunning him. A massive silver aura swirled about Dalin, making him quite the imposing figure. "Don't toy with me thief king! As the Devourer I am completely capable of consuming you and making sure you never come back! What's in it for you? You get to continue living is what's in it for you!"  
  
Bakura slumped to the ground as Dalin released his hold. Brushing white hair out of his eyes the spirit looked up from his seated position at the much taller man. He sneered briefly before he rose to his feet and looked Dalin right back in the eyes. "What exactly do you want to know?"  
  
*****************************  
  
The white torrent of energy surged around Drake's defense monster and abruptly vanished into nothing, leaving Kaiba standing there in confusion. As the light cleared Drake's monster was revealed as a gaunt, almost skeletal spellcaster holding a ivory staff with a skull placed at the top. The spellcaster's black robes were never touched by the wind.   
  
Drake grinned in triumph after seeing his spellcaster fend off the Blue Eye's attack. He had planned on the dragon and he had been right. Trust Kaiba to always have a Blue Eyes up his sleeve. "Sorry Kaiba, but my Skull Wizard(2500/3000) has the power to absorb half the stats of the monster sacrificed for it. So it gained 400 attack and 1000 defense. The one problem is that I can't change its mode the turn after its summoned and any other time I switch its mode I must wait another turn before switching it again."   
  
Kaiba frowned and motioned for him to take his turn. Knowing that he had one chance at this he drew his next card, and smirked. Now his plan could be set into motion. "Alright Kaiba, I intend to take out all of your Blue Eyes in this one turn, so prepare yourself!"  
  
Kaiba's only response was to laugh. Even to the duelists one the blimp that Drake had beaten this statement seemed ridiculous. Sure it was possible to beat all the Blue Eyes in one turn, but not if only one of them was even on the field. "You? Take out all of my Blue Eyes in one turn? You couldn't defeat them if you were given TEN free turns!"  
  
Drake smirked as he slid a card into the magic/trap slot followed by a second one, which he activated. "First I'll place a card face down. Next I play the magic card I put into my hand using Magical Bouquet...the Shrink card!" Kaiba cried out in horror as his once mighty Blue Eyes was reduced to a merely average monster. (BEWD: 1500)   
  
Drake extended one arm, palm outwards as he intoned the next part of his plan. The deadliest part. "Activate face down card, Chain Destruction! Now that the Blue Eye's meets its requirements I can get rid of the other two!" The trap card flipped up and a chain snaked it, piercing through the Blue Eyes and into Kaiba's deck. The champion grimaced as he searched his deck for the other two and discarded them to the cemetery.   
  
"Now I summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000) in attack mode. Neo, destroy his Blue Eyes with Magical Blade Slash!" The blond spellcaster shimmered into view and lifted his blade high above his head. Whispering ancient words of magic he grasped the blade with both hands, sending a blue glow arcing across it. Then, with one swift motion he slashed the blade straight the dragon, cutting it in half. (KLP: 4500)   
  
The spectators were astounded that Drake had actually carried through on his declaration. Nobody had expected all three Blue Eyes to go down so quickly, especially not Kaiba. Grimacing in he drew his next card. He still didn't have everything he needed! Well at least he could still stall Drake for this turn. "I summon X-Head Cannon(1800/1500) and have it attack Neo!"   
  
Kaiba's newest monster was essentially a head with cannons on it and the instant it hit the field it launched a volley of shells at Neo. At the last second Drake's face down card flipped up, and the attack swerved to strike Skull Wizard, who casually deflected them back at Kaiba. "I activated Shift, turning your attack to my Skull Wizard. Course you take the overflow damage now don't you?" (KLP: 3300)   
  
Drake drew his next card and grinned in delight. Glancing back at Kensai briefly he smirked and slapped the card down on the field, tributing his two monsters in the process. "I summon Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600) and...I set one card face down on the field. My magician will destroy your cannon with Chaos Scepter Blast!" The monster Kensai gave him rose onto the field in all its glory, blue-skin and purple and black clothing.   
  
With a wave of its wand the magician sent a deadly looking orb racing across the ground to explode across the cannon's body, blasting it into oblivion. Kaiba looked furious. "You can't do that! You didn't use the ritual cards to summon it, so its impossible!" (KLP: 2300)   
  
Drake held up his DD2, pointing at the monster he had in the center most monster zone. "Check it out. Its one of the most recent cards to come out, an effect monster version of the ritual monster. So yes indeed I can normal summon him, and his effect removes all monsters he destroys in battle from the game." Kaiba glared at him and picked his cannon off the field and dropped it into his pocket.   
  
Kaiba drew his next card and grinned viciously as he played it. "Pot of Greed gives me two new cards." He drew the cards and looked at them for a second before smirking and selecting four of the cards in his hand. Now, at long last his strategy would be put into effect, and this duel would be his.   
  
"I play Victimize, a magic card that lets me discard cards from my hand for sacrifices. However to summon a monster with two sacrifices I'd have to discard two different types of cards. In this case I discard Battle Ox, Crush Card Virus, and Shadow Utensil (A.N.-I'll explain later) in order to pay for the cost of summoning my monster."   
  
A card appeared face up on the field, depicting an old man ripping up a hand of cards, the old man seemed to be laughing as he did so. Drake took a deep breath as he prepared himself for what he knew was about to come. Only one monster that Kaiba possessed could possibly be summoned in this manner. "Rise up...OBELISK!"  
  
**************************  
  
"I wasn't there when this all began, you have to understand that. So I don't know anything but what I heard." Dalin nodded, accepting Bakura's words as the truth. After all, he had no reason to doubt the spirit since it was in the thief's best interests to help Dalin.   
  
"Just tell me what you heard, and that'll be enough." Bakura smirked and turned away, pointing to a huge door with the eye that adorned all Millennium Items in its center.   
  
"I'll do better then that, that door in front of you is the Door of Lost Legends. It contains all the knowledge the Pharaoh ever learned about the old legends and the old truths. By entering that room you will find yourself 3500 years in the past, five centuries before the current Millennium Items were created."  
  
Dalin approached the door cautiously, inspecting every inch of it before placing his hands on it, ready to open the door and find the truth. "What will I see when I enter?"   
  
Bakura shrugged and leaned back against the stone wall beside the door. "I don't have the slightest idea. Guess you'll just have to go in to find out." With a nod Dalin pushed the door open, and found himself far in the past.  
  
******************************  
  
Within a vast temple six men gathered in a semi-circle around a man seated on a throne. The man on the throne was speaking. "There must be something we can do to appease the Hand! Surely if we offer up another village in sacrifice the Hand's army will not attack."  
  
One of the six man shook his head, worry evident upon his aging face. "The Hand refuses to be appeased. It demands that a way around Ammut must be found, or it will surely destroy us."  
  
Suddenly booming laughter echoed throughout the room. The seven men turned to find another group of seven approaching them. Each of these seven were adorned in much simpler clothing then the seven who had first been in the room, however each one possessed a single item of gold or silver that set them apart.   
  
The one who was laughing, a tall, muscular man with white-blond hair past his ears stepped in front of the six priests and turned his steely gaze upon the Pharaoh. "The Great Lord Osiris will not bow to the demands of the Hand simply because you are afraid of dying. The Lord of the Dead has commanded me to bring word that The Seven will combat the Hand, and we shall defeat it."  
  
The Pharaoh looked at this man curiously, turning to eye each of the other six behind the man. "Servant of Osiris...you are quite foolish. Every Kaa in the land would not stand a chance against the Hand, so what hope would you seven have? Even your items do not grant you that kind of power."  
  
The man addressed as the Servant of Osiris smirked and raised his right hand up in front of his face. "Do not forgot Pharaoh, that as the Chosen Servants we have powers that are not granted to normal mortals. Each of us holds within them the power to raise the representative Kaa of our masters and mistresses. I vow upon the Icon of Osiris that the Hand will fall before the power of our Gods."   
  
Glinting upon the man's hand was a silver ring, that spanned the four fingers of that hand. It was an image of a serpentine dragon, biting down on its own tail.   
  
*************************  
  
Drake starred in awe as the massive blue monster rose up from the ground...and rose...and rose. "How the hell big is this thing?" As Drake watched he discovered that is was so big that it grew a little fuzzy at the feet, apparently reaching the very limits of the holographic projectors. When Yugi had summoned Osiris, that had been big, but this was big in a completely different way.  
  
Kaiba smirked wickedly as the god monster assumed its place upon the field, making the Black Magician of Chaos stagger backwards in fear. Drake grinned in delight at seeing Kaiba's god, a monster he had hoped to face. "Well you know what they say. The bigger they are~"  
  
"The harder they crush you. Admit it Drake, Obelisk(4000/4000) is too much for you to handle. I suggest you surrender before you embarrass yourself." Drake rolled his eye's at Kaiba's display of arrogance. Sure Obelisk was powerful, but that didn't mean it could win the duel all by its lonesome.   
  
"I'd be more worried about embarrassing yourself if I was you Kaiba. You might have a powerful monster, but one monster won't determine the outcome of a duel all on its own, not when I'm involved at least. So if you want to win, then go ahead and show me what Obelisk is capable of. I'm ready!"  
  
Thrusting one hand outwards the champion called for his God to attack. "God Hand Crusher!" Obelisk raised one fist high above its head and swung it straight at Drake's much smaller spellcaster, intent on crushing him. However the magician wasn't going to go down without a fight.   
  
Leaping over the outstretched arm the magician jumped straight onto Obelisk's chest and leapt off of it. Spinning in a dizzying series of flips the spellcaster landed on the Obelisk's upper-arm and extended his staff right at the God's face. Drake smirked as he revealed his face down card. "Activate Shrink!"   
  
(Obelisk: 2000) Kaiba's eyes widened as his monster's stats shrunk to more manageable proportions, leaving it vulnerable to the magician's counter attack. With a wave of its staff the most powerful of all magicians unleashed a massive orb made up of magical energies. The orb zipped through the air and crashed into Obelisk's face, sending it sprawling backwards.   
  
Out of pure instinct Kaiba ducked, fearing that the massive frame of Obelisk would crush him in its fall. However, mere feet above his head it exploded into nothingness, taking a chunk of Kaiba's life points with it, and a chunk of his pride as he was forced to remove it from the game. (KLP: 1500) "What now Kaiba? I haven't lost a single life point and you've already lost all of your strongest monsters and more then half of your life points."  
  
"How could you have a second Shrink card? There's no way!" Drake chuckled and pointed to his magician, who crossed his arms smugly.   
  
"When my Black Magician of Chaos is summoned, flip summoned, or special summoned he lets me return one magic card in my cemetery to my hand. So I chose Shrink and set it face down, just in case." Kaiba grimaced and set one card face down before ending his turn.   
  
Grinning at the thought of beating the champion, Drake drew and placed the card in the monster zone next to his magician. "I set one monster face down in defense and~" Drake gasped in surprise as Kaiba's down card flipped, revealing a control pad of some kind.   
  
"I activate Enemy Controller. At a cost of 1000 life points (KLP: 500) I can select one of two effects, explode or sacrifice, and since I can't sacrifice at the moment I'll choose to blow your magician sky high!" The magician let out a sharp cry of pain as it exploded into tiny little holographic fragments, leaving Drake almost defenseless.  
  
Smirking Kaiba drew his next card and then activated it. "I play Life Shortening Cards. Despite its name I assure you that the only life its shortening is yours in this duel. I draw five cards, but five turns after activation I must discard my entire hand." Kaiba started drawing his new hand, and with each card he drew his smirk grew bigger and bigger. This definitely wouldn't be good for Drake.   
  
"I summon Lord of Dragons in attack mode and play Horn of Calling Dragons. So I summon Hyonzaru(2100/2800) and Kaiser Glider(2400/2200). Since you might have a high defense monster I'll attack it with my Hyonzaru first, Diamond Wind!" The horned dragon opened its mouth and let loose a stream of freezing cold wind, with flecks of diamonds in it. The wind cut straight through Drake's defense monster, and a blond man wielding a staff was revealed for a second before vanishing under the assault.   
  
"Kaiser Glider will attack your life points directly!" The golden dragon loosed a ball of golden flame at Drake, only to have it strike a second monster that hadn't been there before. It was an old looking fellow who cast one hand out at Lord of Dragons before exploding. To Kaiba's further surprise his Lord of Dragons exploded as well, leaving his dragons vulnerable again.  
  
"Before you go crazy I'll explain. The first monster you destroyed was Apprenticeship Magician. When he's destroyed by battle I can special summon one level two or less spellcaster from my deck to the field in face down defense position. The second spellcaster you destroyed was Vindictive Old Magician, who when flipped lets me destroy one monster on the field, and I chose your Lord of Dragons."   
  
Kaiba smirked and slapped down his next card. When he did a giant cannon appeared, aiming straight at Drake. A burst of energy erupted from it and struck Drake in the chest, causing him to stumble backwards into the railing. "Sacrificial Blast Cannon allows me to sacrifice half of my life points to cut your life points down by half of the difference in our life points." (KLP: 250, DLP: 2125)  
  
Taking a deep breath, knowing full well that he didn't have much chance of getting something to keep him alive, he drew his card and let out that deep breath. "I play Graceful Charity." He drew his three new cards and looked at them curiously for a second before looking back up at Kaiba. Without looking he picked two of the cards and slid them into his cemetery slot.   
  
"I now play...oh....well that's not good." Drake chuckled weakly as he stared at the card he had in his hand and realized that he had discarded the wrong two cards. Gulping he played the monster in defense position and passed his turn to Kaiba, praying that he could still make his plan work.   
  
Kaiba smirked and drew his next card. "First I equip Kaiser Glider with Dragon Treasure to raise his attack by 300. Now Hyonzaru will attack with his Diamond Wind yet again!" The Hyonzaru roared and attacked Drake's face down monster, once more cutting it into pieces and once more revealing the same blond spellcaster.   
  
"Don't you ever learn Kaiba? Yet again you've destroyed my Apprenticeship Magician, so go ahead and attack if you dare." Drake let out a sigh of relief, this could still work, whether or not Kaiba attacked. However he might be vulnerable if he had to use his monster's effect during his turn. It was now up to Kaiba whether his plan would work or not.   
  
Running through Kaiba's mind were the cards that Drake had been tracked as using during his entire time working for him and during his Battle City duels. After several seconds of this deliberation he discovered exactly what he wanted to know. Drake only had one Vindictive Old Magician in his deck. "Kaiser Glider, attack!"   
  
The ball of golden flame slammed into Drake's second monster, engulfing it in fire before it could even defend itself. Now it was Drake's turn to smirk as he pulled the cards out of his cemetery slot and picked one out, slipping the others back in. "You just destroyed the Magician of Faith, so it looks like I get a card back."   
  
Seeing as how there was nothing left for Kaiba to do this turn Drake made it his own, and drew a card. Grinning he slapped the card onto the field, knowing that stalling would give him the advantage, by ridding Kaiba of his options. Kaiba grimaced as the glowing green swords crashed down around him and his monsters. "I play Swords of Revealing Light. As for the card I took back...I think I'll save it for a turn or so. Your up Kaiba."  
  
Kaiba drew and looked over his hand. He didn't have any cards he could use at the moment, and he couldn't attack either. He was stuck. Keeping his face its normal calm expression he passed the turn to Drake, knowing full well that every turn he didn't use, was another turn Drake had to find a way to beat him.   
  
Drake drew and casually set a monster before passing the turn back to Kaiba. There wasn't long before Kaiba would be stripped of all options, and then it would be open season on the champion's life points. No way was he going to let this opportunity pass him up. This was the best duel he'd had in a long time, better then any he'd had in the rest of Battle City. He had Kaiba to thank for that.   
  
Kaiba drew another card and prepared to pass when his thoughts suddenly went to the cemetery and the monsters he now had on the field. He had only gotten these monsters in play because of Life Shortening Cards...and this was the third turn after he had activated it. With this insight he realized what Drake planned to do, the punk intended to force him to discard his hand, leaving him with no options.   
  
"Very clever Drake, but it won't save you. I don't need a full hand of cards to defeat you. Every single card in my deck is more powerful then anything you can throw at me. I set one card face down...and that's all I need." With that he let the turn pass to Drake who was grinning confidently. Kaiba would show him that his confidence was misplaced.   
  
"Its about time I take you apart Kaiba. I'll do that by unleashing two very deadly monsters, one of whom is my a trump card of mine. I haven't gotten to use it at all during Battle City, and I'll glad use it to defeat you." Grinning wider then ever he slapped down two cards, one onto his monster field and the other into his magic/trap slots.   
  
"First off I sacrifice my defense monster for Chaos Magician(2400/1900) in attack mode! I also play the card I recovered...Monster Reborn to revive my trump monster...the Chaos Sorcerer(2300/2000). To summon him I must remove one light and one dark type monster in my cemetery from the game. So I remove Mystical Elf and one of my apprentices to summon him!"   
  
The first monster that appeared was dressed in black robes similar to those of the Dark Magician, his blue-skinned face barely visible. He held his black staff aloft and then slammed the butt of it into the ground, sending arching waves of energy up around him.   
  
The second monster was a strange one for a spellcaster. He carried no weapon and had dark skin. His eyes were covered by a black wrapping and all he wore was strange upturned black clothing, that gave him a mysterious and deadly appearance. The oddest part was that the light seemed to bend around him. This was the Chaos Sorcerer, one of Drake's deadliest monsters.   
  
******************************  
  
Dalin awoke with his back leaning against a metal wall. Standing in front of him was Yugi in his Yami form. The ancient Pharaoh was watching him closely. "So you finally woke up. Tell me...exactly what were you doing in my puzzle?"   
  
Dalin let his eyes touch the floor as he rose to his feet, towering over the smaller duelist. The things he had learned...now he wasn't certain if he had wanted to learn them. "I had to talk to someone. I had to learn a few things about myself."  
  
"Did you learn them?" Dalin turned to face the Pharaoh and nodded grimly, turning away and taking long strides to return himself to his room. He had learned far too much today, more then he had thought he would.   
  
"I did at that Pharaoh...but I begin to wish I hadn't."  
  
************************************  
  
"Chaos Magician will destroy Hyonzaru!" The magician aimed his staff at the diamond dragon and unleashed a bolt of negative energies that seared through the air...and crashed into Kaiser Glider who shrugged it off and retaliated with a golden fireball.   
  
"My own Shift card takes care of your pathetic attack, transferring it to my more powerful Kaiser Glider!" The Chaos Magician screamed in pain before it was immolated by the deadly fire of Kaiba's dragon. It took only a few seconds before not even his dust remained. (DLP: 1825)   
  
Drake sighed at seeing part of his plan ruined, but knew he could still recover...seing as how Kaiser Glider wouldn't be around much longer. "Its time to show you why my sorcerer is so dangerous. Chaos Sorcerer, banish Kaiser Glider from existence!"   
  
The dark sorcerer raised both his hands and summoned energy unto them. Kaiba watched in fascination as one hand glowed with an intense inner light and the other cut off all light with a heavy darkness. Then the sorcerer cast both hands out and merged the two into a purplish light that struck Kaiser Glider head on. For a moment the Kaiser Glider was black and white, and then it was nowhere to be seen. It had simply ceased to exist.   
  
"You see Kaiba, my sorcerer can remove one face-up monster from the game during my turn at the cost of not being able to attack during that turn. Not even the strongest of monsters can withstand his power." Kaiba was actually starting to worry as he drew, knowing that unless he could get rid of the sorcerer he wouldn't be able to defend himself for very long.   
  
"I switch Hyonzaru to defense mode and set two cards face down. That ends my turn and your swords." The green swords faded away as Hyonzaru curled itself into a glinting diamond ball, a perfect defense of 2800 at work. A perfect defense that didn't stand a chance against Drake's sorcerer.   
  
Drake drew and saw the name Omegus appear before Kaiba flipped one of his face-down cards, Drop Off, which forced him to discard Omegus to the cemetery. It didn't matter anyways, Omegus wouldn't have helped him. "Banish Hyonzaru my sorcerer!" Once again the sorcerer engulfed his hands in darkness and light, then unleashed the chaotic energy at Hyonzaru. It turned black for a brief second, and like Kaiser Glider before it, was no more.   
  
Kaiba smirked as it became his turn. He drew his next card and didn't even bother to look at it as he was forced to discard his entire hand because of the effect of Life Shortening Cards. None of that matter however, because he had the one card on the field that he needed to win this duel. "Activate Monster Reborn!"   
  
Drake gasped as the card flipped up and from the ground burst the Blue Eyes White Dragon in all its glory. It opened its jaws wide and unleashed its deadly attack upon his sorcerer, engulfing it in a blaze of white fire that even its great power could not contend with. The might of the Blue Eyes was simply to great for his sorcerer to defeat at this time. (DLP: 1125)   
  
Kaiba smirked as he looked upon his Blue Eyes with admiration. His faithful Blue Eyes, always ready to serve its rightful master. "I'd say the tide is back in my favor now wouldn't you? Had I activated Monster Reborn last turn there was no telling what you might have been able to do, but now I have you at a complete disadvantage, with no cards in your hand and no monster...I can say that I've got the true lead, despite our life point differences."  
  
Drake nodded and drew confidently, knowing that this could be his last card. It wouldn't matter even if it was, because he had fought his hardest and had given Kaiba a run for his money even without his item. Now he knew that he didn't need it. He held the card up in front of his eyes and let a slight smile touch his calm face. "I play Altar of Resurrection. This magic card lets me draw two cards and activate one magic card in my cemetery during this turn."   
  
An altar with a golden statue with wings on it appeared on Drake's field and then faded away as Drake drew his two cards and chose the card he wanted to activate. "I activate Magical Bouquet, and search my deck for the card I need." He slid his deck out of its slot and searched through it before he found the card that he knew was right for this situation. It would serve him well.   
  
"Next I play Shot From the Dark! This card lets me activate a magic card in either player's cemetery and I choose to activate my own Monster Reborn, to revive Chaos Sorcerer by removing Neo and another apprentice from the game." For the second time the sorcerer shimmered into view on the field, ready to take on Kaiba's dragon.   
  
"I could use my sorcerer's effect to give me the win, but I want him to deal the final blow. To accomplish this I must summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) in attack mode!" The powerful dark robed magician erupted from his card and stood next to the Chaos Sorcerer, prepared to carry out whatever command his master gave him.   
  
"Now the final card I play is the card I searched for, a card given to me by a good friend. I play United We Stand to raise Chaos Sorcerer's attack by eight hundred for each monster on the field. He now has the power to defeat your dragon and finish off the last of your life points all in one shot!" (Chaos Sorcerer: 3900)   
  
Kaiba let his arms fall to his side as the powered up sorcerer took hold of the magician's staff and charged it with the energies of dark and light. He couldn't believe it. He was going to lose again and there was nothing he could do about it. "Chaos Sorcerer...Orb of Darkest Light!"  
  
The sorcerer unleashed an orb of the same purple light it had used before, but this time through its staff. The orb struck his dragon and in a massive explosion of light...his dragon was defeated and so was he. For the third time he had lost, and this time there was no Exodia and no Toon World to blame it on. He had simply lost because the other duelist was better. (KLP: 0)  
  
As the holograms faded from the field the shock overwhelmed Drake and in a display of true humility he pumped his arms in the air and shouted, "I BEAT SETO KAIBA! HUZZAH!" He snapped out of it when Kaiba approached him and extended a blue card...Obelisk the Tormentor.   
  
"Take it...and enjoy your victory for now. Consider it and honor that I now see you as worthy rival. We will duel again...and next time the result won't be the same." Turning away the World Champion exited the dueling arena to make way for the next pair of duelists, leaving a grinning Drake behind him.   
  
Drake wouldn't have been happier if he had won a million dollars. He had beaten Seto Kaiba...and he still had more duels ahead of him. Something told him that the duels would only get tougher and more exciting. He couldn't wait.  
  
___________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Notes: Magical Bouquet, Skull Wizard, and Shot From the Dark are my creations...no steally! However Altar of Resurrection is a card used by Yami in the Doom Arc that just finished running in Japan. He used it against Raphael, one of the three Doom Soldiers. Hope you enjoyed the duel.  
  
Next Time: The final duel of the first round commences and its Kirani versus Taichi. Kirani seems to have it easy as Taichi can hardly keep up with her, but Taichi's words echo in Drake's ears and make him start to fear... 


	13. Beyond God

Disclaimer: Dude...I don't own Yugioh. Get over it.   
  
Chapter Twelve: Beyond God  
  
Drake Ihachi felt a wave of cold travel up his spine, making him shiver for no apparent reason. He looked around, trying to see exactly what was giving him the creeps. All he saw was the dark haired kid Taichi staring at him with a small smirk on his face. "That guy gives me the creeps."  
  
"You might be scared, but I'm about to slaughter him in our duel." Drake grinned, turning to face Kirani. In a minute the two of them would duel. As far as Drake was concerned the outcome of the duel was pretty obvious. Kirani was a skilled Rare Hunter...and this Taichi was a no-name duelist.   
  
Drake stopped at that thought and almost laughed. He may have beaten Seto Kaiba...but nobody in the dueling world had ever heard of him either. After this tournament they'd know about him, but till then he'd just have to be satisfied with being a successful nobody.   
  
He was snapped out his reverie when Kirani waved a hand in front of his face to get his attention. Apparently she had been saying something and he had been zoned out. "Umm...what were you saying?"  
  
She rolled her eyes and pointed to the deck that sat in his duel disc. "I asked you if I could take a look at Obelisk. I mean, I've never even seen a card that powerful and we both know Malik was pretty crazy about obtaining those three cards." Drake grinned and picked the top card off of his deck and handed it to her.   
  
He watched her face as she looked down at the card in her hands and he started grinning when he saw the look of wonder blossom in her eyes. Only a true duelist could get that look when seeing a card like Obelisk. A true duelist would see the massive inner strength of Obelisk and the power that it represented. Anyone else would simply see a card with high stats.  
  
"Will the final duelists of the first round, Taichi Nobuki and Kirani Kajika, please step into the ring to begin the duel." Drake tried to hold it back but before he knew it he was laughing as hard as he could, trying to stop his laughter even while he laughed.   
  
Kirani glared at him and gave him a sharp slap the backside of his head to shut him up. "Quiet you! It's a good name...its...oh would you stop laughing! ITS NOT FUNNY!" By this time several of the others had joined in, and even the referee was having trouble holding back his snickers. The only one who wasn't laughing was Kaiba...but then again he wouldn't be expected to laugh.   
  
Holding back his laughter for a brief second Joey was able to get under Kirani's skin with a fierce jab at the source of their laughter. "Sing us a song frog girl!" It wasn't that funny, but for some reason everyone just laughed louder then ever at this.   
  
"You might think its funny, but you don't see me laughing at people who have names like game, or apricot, or sea-horse! So just shut up all of you and let me duel! And I don't want to hear a word out of any of you the rest of this duel!"   
  
(A.N.: I'm sure you want an explanation for this. Well its simple, Kajika means singing frog in Japanese, so the gang got a kick out of it. If you didn't know, Yugi means Game, hence that jibe. You already know the sea-horse bit if you've read the last chapter. Apricot is merely a jibe at the Japanese version of Tea, whose name of Anzu means apricot. And now you know)  
  
Kirani stepped up onto the dueling field and Taichi matched her, taking up the other spot. Before he got there, he had to pass by Drake. Drake's eyes widened as he heard Taichi's voice whisper in his head, "Prepare to witness a force beyond God." As the other's watched, now a bit embarrassed about how they had laughed, the dueling field raised above them, ready for the duel to commence.   
  
Taichi smirked and activated his disc, Kirani followed suit with her own disc. At the same time both players drew an opening hand of five cards, and began to plan. "Go ahead little girl, I'll give you the first turn. Show me what you can do."   
  
(KLP: 4000, TLP: 4000)  
  
Kirani nodded and snapped the top card off her deck. Examining it briefly, she decided that she would start off like Drake did, and see how her opponent would react. "I set one monster in defense mode. That's all."   
  
Taichi shrugged and drew his own card, grinning at the sight of it. Quickly he slapped it down onto one of his monster zones and laughed as a wicked looking demon appeared on the field, flexing its sharp claws. "My Demon Soldier(1900/1500) has enough attack strength to eliminate any monster you've got! DEMON CLAW!"   
  
The demon leapt across the field and slashed down across Kirani's defense monster. A tall, regal man appeared and pointed a finger at the demon. In obedience the monster crept back to its side of the field and snarled at being defeated. (TLP: 3900)  
  
Kirani laughed as her monster crossed his arms across his chest, staring down his nose at Taichi and his monster. "Sorry Taichi, but my Banisher of Light(100/2000) has just enough defense to stop your attack. Better yet, while he's on the field, any monster that goes to the cemetery is removed from the game." Taichi shrugged and gave her the signal to take her turn.   
  
She grinned as she drew her next card, and quickly set it on the field in one of her m/t slots. Then she passed the turn back to Taichi. The creepy duelist grinned as he looked over his newly drawn card, sending a shiver racing up Drake's spine again. Something was definitely weird about this guy. "I sacrifice my Demon Soldier for my Firewing Pegasus(2250/1800) in attack mode!"   
  
Demon Soldier moaned in agony as it exploded into dust. A neigh sounded from the sky, and as the duelists looked up a flying horse with fire bursting from it charged down until he rested in front of Taichi. The duelist smirked and commanded it to attack Kirani's monster.   
  
As quickly as the monster had appeared, it disappeared, falling into the ground right in front of the Banisher. Taichi acted shocked at this, but something in his eyes told Drake that the duelist had been expecting a trap, and didn't even care that he had to remove his monster from the game. Kirani smirked and showed him what her down card was. "My Chasm of Spikes card destroys your monster and deducts one quarter of its attack from your life points."  
  
(TLP: 3337) Finally, Taichi shrugged it off and motioned for the game to continue. Kirani drew and played her card as quickly as she could. The sound of drums could be heard even before a woman dressed in spotted cat fur appeared, sitting behind a set of drums. "Meet Volt Girl(1900/800). This girl's tune will rock your world! Volt Girl, give him your best drum solo!"   
  
Taichi grasped his heart as waves of electricity coarsed around him. He felt into an obviously fake coughing spat and then rolled onto his back, laughing hysterically. "You actually think that your light monsters can defeat me? You see, I always have methods of success, and when my supreme monster reaches the field it will be all over for you!"  
  
Drake stiffened at these words. This was what Taichi must have been talking about, his ultimate monster, a force beyond God. But what could it possibly be?   
  
Taichi had finally stood up and had drawn his next card, perfectly ready to win the duel, if you asked him that is. (TLP: 1437) "It is time. Time for dark to conquer light. I will use your own power to strengthen myself and turn the tide in my favor! Watch me win. I play Creature Swap! I'll take control of Banisher of Light, but since I don't have any monsters, you won't get anything out of this deal. Now I can sacrifice Banisher for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600) in attack mode!"  
  
The blue skinned demon laughed evily as he raised his glass of wine and stared Volt Girl down. The drummer gulped audibly and backed away as much as she could. Taichi's smirk was wider then ever when he commanded his monster to destroy Volt Girl.   
  
The dark ruler of the underworld abandoned his wine and darted across the field, grabbing Volt Girl in his powerful hands before she had a chance to evade. In a single swift motion he snapped the girl's neck, and tossed her aside. The hologram faded away, leaving some of the watcher's wondering why Kaiba had programmed the holograms to be so realistic.  
  
Kaiba himself was busy contemplating his defeat. Now all he wanted was to see Yugi beaten, and he'd be fine with everything. He could recoup his losses, this wasn't the end of the world.   
  
(KLP: 3450) Taichi smirked as he slapped down a second card. "I play Blood Compensation! At a cost of 500 life points I can summon an extra monster, so I'll pay the life points to summon a monster face down in defense mode!" (TLP: 937) Another monster appeared in the face down position and Taichi ended his turn.   
  
Kirani grimaced as she drew her card. His monster was powerful...but she now had a way to defeat it and give herself an enormous lead. Well...at least a bigger lead then she already had. Taichi smirked again, sending a cold chill throughout Kirani's body. She had though Malik was creepy, but this guy was really starting to get to her.   
  
"Poor little Kirani. She so desperately wants to prove herself, but even when she raises her favorite monster it won't do her any good. Because of all the monsters you posses, the last one I will destroy will be your favorite monster, and it will bring me victory!"   
  
Kirani rolled her eyes as the creepy kid started laughing maniacally. Hearing Malik do that stupid sort of laugh was bad enough, but hearing it even after the irritating jackass was killed? There wasn't a fate that any god in existence could think up that was worse then constantly being surrounded by insane evil people who loved to laugh.   
  
Taichi's whispered words reached her, even across the field, echoing in her head. Nothing he could have said could possibly have frightened her more then his words. "It isn't god that has chosen your punishment."   
  
Shuddering she played the first card that would bring her to victory. "I play Cheerful Coffin, letting me discard up to three monsters from my hand. I'll discard two, and then play Monster Reborn to revive one of the monster's I discarded. Now I'll be happy to introduce to you a monster who a friend gave me, a monster that will prove to be your undoing!"   
  
Drake grinned as she spoke these words, realizing instantly what monster it was. The monster was the one he had given her as a link. It was a monster he would never use in his deck since it didn't fit his theme, but it was powerful nonetheless. "I summon Joan the Guardian Angel(2800/2000) in attack mode!"  
  
Taichi quirked an eyebrow as Kirani's monster began to float down from the ground. It was a redheaded woman with a halo above her head and clear angel wings extending out behind her. Dressed in a white robe with a long white stole extending several feet, she didn't appear to be all that dangerous, however as the non-fusion recreation of Saint Joan, she was definitely more powerful then she appeared to be.   
  
"I'll also play Ceremonial Bell(0/1850) in defense mode. Ceremonial Bell forces both of us to play with our hands open to the other player. My card is Sebek's Blessings, what do you have?"  
  
Taichi grinned and showed his hand to Kirani. She leaned forward to get a good view of them and nearly fell in shock. He had two really good cards! Why hadn't he played any of them? Not only did he have Raigeki Break, but he also had Treasure of Hell, a magic card that let both players to draw cards from the bottom of their deck until they had six cards in hand.   
  
Still wondering what he had in store for her and why he hadn't used those cards, she decided that she'd find out later, after she had finished him off. "I'll set one card and have Joan attack Hades and destroy him!"   
  
Joan nodded and was soon engulfed in a golden glow. Aiming herself at Hades she hurtled across the field as a golden meteor, crashing into the Dark Ruler and burning him to a cinder. Much happier, the angel settled back down in front of Kirani, knowing that the death of Volt Girl had been avenged. (KLP: 5900)   
  
"When Joan destroys a monster in battle, that monster's base attack strength is added to my life points. I'll also activate Sebek's Blessings, giving me an additional handful of life points. (KLP: 6250) And you were saying you could beat me in one turn?"  
  
(TLP: 587) Taichi smirked and drew his next card, revealing it to be a Pot of Greed. Knowing she could see his play, he slipped the card in and drew his first card, revealing it to be a Dark Elf. He hesitated on the next card for some reason, merely giving Kirani an evil look.   
  
"I can indeed defeat you in one turn, because in this turn I will summon the monster that will lead to your defeat. I will show you a power beyond God!" Kaiba perked up as he heard these words, whereas everyone else started to worry. Drake shivered as a sensation of utmost dread suffused his being, practically flooding through his veins.   
  
He could literally hear an inner voice screaming at him that something was horribly wrong! That he had to do something to stop Taichi or Kirani would get hurt. But there wasn't anything he could do!  
  
"The end has come for you Kirani, with this next card I will bring about your defeat. So here it is!" He snapped the card off his deck and held it in the air in triumph, without even looking at it. Then he snatched his Dark Elf and slapped it onto one of his monster zones.   
  
The dark skinned spellcaster appeared, being the exact opposite of her counterpart, the Mystical Elf. Their stats were also reversed, Dark Elf having 2000 attack and 800 defense. "Next I'll flip up my face down monster, X.E.N.O.!"   
  
A monster that looked much like a mollusk with teeth and a tongue appeared, and snaked that tongue around the Ceremonial Bell, dragging it over to Taichi's side of the field. He smirked as his life points started to tick down to nearly zero. (TLP: 87)   
  
"When flipped, X.E.N.O. allows me to take control of one monster on your side of the field until the end of this turn. This gives me a total of three monsters. Now, by sacrificing 500 life points as compensation, I can now normal summon again this turn!"   
  
Laughing, the dark haired boy held out one of his arms. His eyes glinted evilly as he pulled a simple knife from his pocket and then slammed it into his wrist. Pulling the blade out, he turned his wrist upside down so that the blood could splatter onto the ground. His laughter only grew as the blood splashed upon the ground at his feet.   
  
"What the hell are you doing?" Taichi merely continued laughing as he let more blood pour from his wrist. Then, smearing the blood upon his hand, he grasped the second card he had drawn by the effect of Pot of Greed and slammed it onto his monster zone, shattering his other three monsters in the process.   
  
"I'm not surprised you don't understand. Your concepts of power and commitment are hardly up to my standard. You see, the card is Blood Compensation, so I must give up my own blood to summon my next monster. And through that blood I gain a bond with my monster like nothing you could possibly understand! You see..this is more then a simple game...it's a Shadow Game!"  
  
Drake whipped around as he heard these words and ran up to Kaiba. "Kaiba! Cancel the duel right now! If you don't something terrible could happen!"   
  
The older duelist grunted in response and gestured to the blood that seeped through his arms, and the weak Rishid that stood in the corner. "Rishid, Bakura, Malik. They have suffered, and Malik has even died. For the first two I would say that they were weak, so they were defeated and didn't deserve to continue. However with Malik's death something happened. At that moment I should have canceled this entire tournament and had Dalin arrested. However I can't do that anymore."  
  
Grabbing the CEO by the front of his shirt Drake pulled him forward, so that they were almost eye to eye. "And why the fuck can't you?"  
  
He sighed and looked away, refusing to meet Drake's eyes. "Because I'm no longer in control of this tournament. If I tried to cancel it, these duels would still continue. I can do nothing about that. I don't care that Malik is dead, but this Taichi, I want to see him lose. He also claims to have a power greater then God, and I believe he's referring to the god cards. Therefore I will see this monster, and I will find a way to claim it."  
  
Back on the field the blood of Taichi was now creating a pool in what would be one of the monster zones and everything was starting to shake. The entire blimp rattled, and with a brief flash, the lights went out and the holographic projectors deactivated.   
  
Joan was still standing there, despite the deactivation. The blimp itself was beginning to descend, a lack of power forcing it to plummet to the ocean below. "Now my monster, now my master! For what was, for what is, and for what shall be I call upon you!"  
  
A black fire ignited upon the blood, spinning around it until some sort of occult symbol appeared. Suddenly a massive hand, the size of a human body erupted from it and crashed down on the field. The tan fleshed arm began pulling itself up, dragging the massive body up with it.   
  
Slowly the monster rose up, showing its true horrifying self as a monster that existed completely outside of the holograms that generated the rest of the monsters in the game. It generated itself, creating an aura that made Joan just as real as it was. This monster was a true terror to behold, particularly for Kaiba.   
  
The sound of bone contacting with bone wasn't enough to pull anyone's gaze away from the monster. Kaiba slowly reached up a hand to his nose, wiping the blood that blossomed there off, though it wasn't enough to stop the flow. Drake dropped his fist to his side and shouted at Kaiba, rage filling his heart. "Stop the duel! DO IT NOW!"   
  
Kaiba closed his eyes and looked away, now ignoring the flow of blood down his chin. This was his fault...this was...it was...real. "I'm sorry...I can't do anything."  
  
Taichi's laughter echoed above the deep guttural sounds of his new monster, whose snake head charm was enough to let even an amateur duelist recognize it. "Its all over Kirani...for now my supreme monster, a force beyond God will eliminate you. No...it will do more then simply eliminate you. It will obliterate you. EXODIA! OBLITERATE!"  
  
Exodia raised its unchained hands and called upon its awesome energies and then extended its arm, sending a massive wave of deadly energy cascading over Joan, killing her so quickly that it was as if she never existed. The wave hurtled onwards towards Kirani, ready to enveloped her as well.   
  
In a moment of desperation Drake jumped onto the field and tackled Kirani, letting the beam hurtle harmlessly over their heads, vaporizing the top of the elevator shaft and continuing onwards across the ocean. Those present looked on in horror as the beam struck the tops of several towers in the far distant Domino City, and shatter them in mere seconds.   
  
As suddenly as the power had gone out, it came back on, and Exodia faded away, leaving Taichi standing there on a pool of his own blood, grinning maniacally. What was worse was his arm...it had stopped bleeding and no flesh wound was visible. "As the penalty for losing this game, I can inflict Punishment Game. Your soul now belongs to me Kirani!" Drake's eyes widened as the blank card came up.   
  
There was a flash of light, and Kirani simply crumpled. Her grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her, trying to get her to walk up, but she didn't respond. Her glazed eyes simply started straight into the sky, leaving no doubt that she was no longer with him.   
  
Something deep inside him snapped as he saw those eyes. To see those eyes, with nothing in them, eyes that had once been filled with life, to now be completely empty...it broke him. Another pair of blank eyes taunted him in his mind, taunted him with shadows of things that had nearly broken him before. To see it happen again was simply too much for him.   
  
"I'm going to kill you!" Leaping up from his spot next to Kirani, the punk duelist charged across the field to attack Taichi, perfectly intent on ripping his disgusting throat out. Taichi merely shook his finger in disapproval and raised a card in front of him, a card that had Kirani's image on it.  
  
"I wouldn't try anything if I were you. Kirani's soul is right here in this card, and should you try and harm me, I will tear it. Then her soul will never return, and she'll be gone for good, just like...her." Taichi smirked as Drake stopped in his tracks, fists clenched in rage but unable to act. Nobody could do anything, there was nothing that could be done.   
  
Laughing, Taichi walked away and entered the elevator, leaving everyone behind him shaking in horror. This was no longer a tournament...it was a race towards death.  
  
******************************  
  
Yami had every intention of discussing Dalin's findings with him, however a dark power had distracted him, making him break into a run heading for the dueling arena. Something had just happened, and he feared that his help was needed.   
  
"Yugi!" Yami spun and found Dalin running up behind him. The other duelist must have sensed the darkness as well, and had been heading up for the same reasons.   
  
As one, the two duelists started running again, only to be stopped as the floor seemed to shimmer, allowing a tall tan man wearing a turban to step out. "Pharaoh, Ammut, I must speak with you about what has just happened."  
  
Yami snarled in impatience and tried to brush past Shadi, however Dalin grabbed his shoulder, restraining him. "We were just going to investigate. What did you want to tell us?"  
  
Shadi eyed each of them in turn, before expressing himself. "The presence I have sensed is a darkness that has not shown itself since roughly 1500 B.C., 3500 years ago. Five centuries before your reign as Pharaoh. You see at that time there existed a monster who wished to free the essence of the Shadow Realm. The essence of destruction that the gods had sealed before time had even begun.  
  
This force had no name, but it called itself The Hand of the Forbidden One. The essence of destruction that had been sealed had been given a name in Egypt, a name that was spoken only be the truly brave. It was called Exodia. The Hand took sacrifices, and used that evil to bend the Shadow Realm, attempting to sunder it and release his master. An act that would have destroyed the universe if the Hand had not been defeated and destroyed.  
  
Somehow the hand has returned within the body of this body, and now I fear that soon if he is not stopped he will be able to sunder the Shadow Realm as he intended long ago, using the power he intends to gain by taking the soul of Ammut, and the souls of the ones who defeated him long ago. You must defeat him, or the universe shall cease to exist."  
  
****************************  
  
Drake turned his head away from the wall, away from the corner that he had been standing at. The Hand? Sunder the Shadow Realm? None of that mattered to him. He couldn't care less about some stupid essence of destruction and the end of the world.   
  
He would kill Taichi after he defeated him in a duel. But he would do it for his own reasons, not so he could save the world. He would leave foolish notions like heroism to people like Yugi and Joey. He had blood on his mind, and he wouldn't let anything stand in his way of taking his revenge.  
  
When he killed Taichi...he wondered if the boy would have the same look on his face that the last one did. He could still hear the words that she had said to him, he could hear them ringing in his head. He clenched his hand on the Disc that hung from his neck, picturing the small and fragile hands that had placed it around his neck.   
  
"I never even got to say goodbye."  
  
________________________________________________  
  
A.N.-I know this isn't all that long, but it seemed that it was all that was necessary for this chapter. It might actually be the shortest of my chapters yet, though I'd have to go back and check. Well, at least besides Ch. 8. Okay...so Ch. 3 was the shortest. But hey, I still wrote it didn't I? Hope its angsty enough for you, though it will get worse as you go. Read and review, thanks!  
  
Next Time: The blimp finally arrives at the true place of the finals and everyone prepares to disembark. Joey challenges Kaiba to a duel, and the two begin. Meanwhile Shadi confronts Taichi and the two initiation a Shadow Game. Can Shadi win, or is Taichi just too much for the tombkeeper? 


	14. To Alcatraz Through the Flames!

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.   
  
Chapter Thirteen: To Alcatraz Through the Flames!  
  
"Mr. Kaiba, we are now approaching Alcatraz Island. ETA is 10 minutes." Kaiba nodded, contemplating several things from the past hour or so. Not a single bit of it was positive.  
  
  
  
First, he had lost to Drake, having all three of his Blue Eyes defeated and Obelisk beaten as well. Secondly, two of the competitors had been in severe accidents. One dead, the other effectively comatose. What was worse, the comatose one was in exactly the same position that Mokuba had been in when that freak Pegasus got a hold of him.   
  
He sighed as he watched the vague shape of Alcatraz Island increasing in size every second. Soon they would arrive, and then the next round of his tournament would begin. A tournament that he now had absolutely no control over. He was beginning to worry that if the current trend continued, then things would only get worse.   
  
*******************************  
  
"Attention Duelists, we are now approaching Alcatraz Duel Tower, the true location of the Battle City Finals. Please prepare to disembark and enter the tower." There was a muffled conversation over the intercom, the announcers voice seemingly arguing with Mokuba, and then the announcer came back on and informed the 'hangers-on' would be allowed to enter the tower as well. With a crackle the com-system went quiet.   
  
Taichi Nobuki smirked as he heard the com go quiet and rose from his sitting position on top of the Battle Blimp. It would be a little while before his next duel, but he could enjoy himself by watching the struggling of the pathetic duelists onboard. Perhaps one of them might actually prove a challenge to him...but he doubted it.   
  
He glossed over a few of the cards in his deck, grinning as he perused it, considering for himself the true power of his deck. He didn't even need Exodia to be an invincible duelist, but it certainly had a far greater impact to defeat his opponents in that manner.   
  
In fact that had been his reasoning behind doing little but stall against that little girl Kirani. He had wanted to see her confident and then see her broken by the raw and awesome power of Exodia.   
  
Chuckling to himself he turned to head towards the elevator and stopped short. Standing in front of him like an implacable wall was the guardian...Shadi or some such. Rolling his eyes, Taichi grunted out a simple question. "What do you want?"  
  
A grim smile touched Shadi's lips briefly as he raised his arm to reveal a duel disk. Pulling a deck from within his robe the guardian shuffled briefly before inserting it into the deck slot on the disk. Finally he drew five cards and deigned Taichi with an answer. "I have come to challenge you to a duel. The winner will continue to exist...the loser will be banished forever."   
  
Taichi's responding smile was a far more crooked thing. It gave Shadi a feeling of intense hatred...and a tinge of fear. Something about that smile was...not human. "Very well Shadi, I accept the duel. However we need to make a few modifications to the punishment for losing. So to make the duel more interesting I will initiate the shadow game I call...Path of Flames."  
  
********************************  
  
Kaiba grimaced as he watched the other duelists flock by into the tower in a large group, though not all necessarily intending to be with the group. Dalin and Yugi stood side by side a few meters from the others discussing something, and Drake walked slowly behind the rest, a grim expression plastered on his face.   
  
Once the duelists had all passed, friends in tow, Kaiba started towards the duel tower, knowing that while he had no need to follow, he felt that as tournament sponsor he should be present...especially after some of the more recent events.   
  
"Yo Kaiba." Kaiba glanced over his shoulder at the last person he'd want to see coming off the blimp behind him. He could have sworn that mediocre duelist had gone in with the others. With a sneer the brown-haired duelist turned to face the blond-haired punk.   
  
"What do you want Wheeler? I've got no time and no reason to waste the little I've got on someone like you." Kaiba had expected the brash duelist to become infuriated and start shouting at him, but instead the blond's face remained utterly calm and controlled.   
  
"No time Kaiba? You've got plenty of time since you got knocked out of the tournament. As for reason, I've got two reasons why you'd want to waste time on me. The first is that earlier in the tournament you agreed to duel me, but took off after hearing something. So you owe me a duel."   
  
Kaiba expected a cocky grin, but still all the expression on Wheeler's face was that of a controlled power. A sort of presence he couldn't define and had never expected to see from someone like Wheeler. "That isn't much of a reason to me. What's the second reason?"  
  
In a business deal this would be the moment where the other person gave away their true thoughts by smiling at his taking the bait. Wheeler just kept staring straight at him, radiating control and that strange presence. "How would you like a chance to get your spot in this tournament back?"  
  
***********************************  
  
Shadi kept his face calm, ignoring the beads of sweat that ran down his face. He had lived in Egypt for his entire life, and Egypt could reach incredibly high temperatures. Never before had he experienced such heat...of course that was to be expected in the position he was in.  
  
The waters below looked calm and inviting...so cool and wet. Far different from the platform of fire that he stood upon, flames licking at his clothes. Several feet away stood his opponent, Taichi, also on a platform made of fire.   
  
Taichi was grinning malevolently as he watched the sweat pour down Shadi's face. He took a strange satisfaction in knowing that when Shadi looked at him he saw a clean face, clear of any perspiration. The flames didn't effect him as they would another. "I'm sure you want to know the rest of the rules to this game...don't you?"  
  
Shadi nodded his consent, focusing on the matter at hand and not the heat around him. He was certain that things would shortly be getting much hotter then they currently were. "Well Shadi, it's simple. This game is called Path of Flames because the only way to get to our destination is to travel a pathway created from fire. Our life points will be set at 4000, and whenever my life points decrease, your path extends, and vice versa. Damage taken will also translate into a burn inflicted by the flames. The more severe the damage, the more severe the burn."  
  
Taking a deep breath, Shadi drew his sixth card, and formulated his strategy. His deck focused around a theme and a sub-theme, and already he had cards to make good his strategy. Soon Taichi would be defeated.   
  
"I will begin this game by setting two magic or trap cards face down." The two brown-backed cards appeared in front of him, unaffected by the flames beneath them.   
  
"Now I will play the magic card, Gravekeeper's Servant. From now on every time you attack you will be forced to discard one card from the top of your deck." The next card appeared on the field, portraying a graveyard upon it. This card was part of his strategy, and it would prove to be very effective.   
  
"Finally I will summon Gravekeeper's Curse(800/800) in attack mode. By summoning him I activate his effect, dealing five hundred points of direct damage to your life points. First blood belongs to I, Shadi."   
  
A black-haired man flickered into view, standing directly above the roaring flames. A curved staff floated in front of him and around him was a green aura. A burst of light shot from that aura and struck Taichi in the chest, making him stagger backwards. As this happened flames licked up around the boy's body, but he seemed unaffected by the heat.   
  
Taichi recovered and brushed off his black shirt as if he had spotted some soot there and it need cleaning. It was as if he hadn't been briefly engulfed in fire...but how could he have been unharmed...unless the game was rigged. (TLP: 3500) "First blood is nothing to me gravekeeper, your monsters and your strategy are as pathetic as you are."  
  
The dark duelist merely glanced at his cards before placing two cards in his m/t slots. "I'll start just like you did, by placing two cards face down. Of course I will also play a permanent magic card as you did. My magic card is called Forfeit The Soul!"   
  
Two brown-backed cards appeared exactly opposite of Shadi's and were followed by a face up card. This new card had a picture of a man grimacing in agony as his soul forced its way out of his chest. It was a very gruesome card. "I'll explain my card for the stupid such as yourself. Forfeit The Soul lets me remove a monster from my side from the game in order to increase my life points by its attack strength. Simple huh?"  
  
Shadi simply ignored his opponent's comments, his silence prompting Taichi to continue. "Well you're no fun. Fine, I now play Hellish Accountant. This magic card lets me add up the number of cards on your field and draw one card for each card you've got. As a result you may either summon a copy of one monster on the field if it exists in your deck, or draw cards from the top of your deck until you reach a monster that you then must special summon."  
  
Shadi gestured with his hand and a second Gravekeeper's Curse appeared next to the second, and as before it launched a ball of green light at Taichi. The reaction was identical to the previous as Shadi's bridge extended to roughly one quarter the distance necessary. (TLP: 3000)   
  
Taichi grinned as he surveyed the cards in his hand, and then slid another into an m/t slot, making four of the five slots full. "Since I can't end my turn with seven cards in my hand, else I'd have to discard, I'll set this one magic or trap card face down. That's all."  
  
Shadi let a small smile touch his face as he added a third card to his hand. At the moment attacking was an unnecessary risk, however he could now complete his set and deal further damage to Taichi. "I activate my two face down cards, Robbin Goblin and Skull Invitation. Now when I damage you with my monsters you must discard a card from your hand, and whenever a card goes to the cemetery the owner will lose 300 life points. I place one magic or trap card face down, and summon the final Gravekeeper's Curse!"  
  
The third and final of that specific gravekeeper set joined its brethren and as had the others before him, attacking Taichi with its effect. Shadi noted that burn marks had started to appear on Taichi's arms...proving that he wasn't invulnerable. (TLP: 2500) However Taichi's laughter he did not expect.   
  
"Now is the time! I activate my trap card, Blind Attack!" Shadi's eyes widened as the three gravekeeper's snatched up their staffs and began charging straight at Taichi, a murderous look in their eyes. The look in Taichi's eyes gave Shadi the distinct impression that he was about to strike trouble.  
  
**********************************  
  
"What are you talking about Wheeler? I lost. For me this tournament is already over." Still Joey didn't respond physically, he simply stared straight ahead with that calm and confident look in his eyes. A look that was starting to annoy Kaiba.  
  
"Things are starting to get a bit crazy. That Taichi guy is as bad as Pegasus was, and in a tournament like this we need the best duelists to face off against a guy like that, otherwise we can't win. I don't know if I could beat him and I don't know if I'd be good enough practice for whoever does, but I want to help. So I'm offering you the chance to duel me in order to determine which of us should continue on in the tournament. Like I said, we need the best out there. You win, you take my spot in the finals. It'll be an official Battle City duel, just like the one you agreed to."  
  
Kaiba smirked and activated his duel disk as a sign of acceptance. All he had to do was beat Wheeler and he'd be back in the tournament? This would be all to easy. All he'd need was five minutes and then he'd be back on track to creating the ultimate deck and reclaiming his title as the best duelist in the world. "Alright Wheeler, get ready to lose."   
  
Finally Joey smiled, drawing his opening hand as they launched the projectors on their disks. The counter rose to 4000 and the game was off to a good start...at least Kaiba thought it was. "As you were the one who challenged me, I'll go first. I'll start off by summoning Y-Dragon Head(1500/1600) in attack mode!"   
  
The machine dragon roared as it appeared on previously empty field, ready to do battle with whatever Wheeler threw at him. Kaiba smirked as he slipped two cards into the slots on his disk and watched as they appeared behind his machine monster. "I set these two cards face down to end my turn. Go ahead and make whatever move you want Wheeler, it won't do you any good."  
  
Joey nodded and added a sixth card into his hand, perusing it for a moment before he decided on what do to. "I'll set two cards face down, and then I'll summon Alligator Sword(1500/1000) in attack mode. Back to you Kaiba."  
  
Kaiba smirked as his hand increased to four cards, each of which would be effective in speeding up this duel. "I'll start off by activating Final Assault Order! As long as its on the field no monster can be in defense mode, meaning you'll be easier to defeat. Next I'll summon Anti-Tribe Virus(1600/1000) in attack mode!"   
  
Kaiba's smirk was stripped off his face in under a second as his monster vanished in the same instant it hit the field. Vanished down into a pit that seemed to have no end to it. "That's my Bottomless Trap Hole card, and it forces you to remove your monster from the game."   
  
Clenching a fist in frustration Kaiba looked over his hand, considering his current options. He had no more trap cards in his hand, he couldn't summon again this turn, and the only magic card in his hand might help Wheeler as much as it could help him.   
  
"Alright then, I'll play a single magic card that might very well determine the outcome of this duel. Hibashira activate!" As soon as Kaiba pressed the activation button a giant torrent of flame erupted from the ground in between the two duelists. After a few moments it settled down to create a ten foot tall pillar of fire.   
  
"Hibashira has a dangerous effect for both duelists. You see during the end phase of their turn they can choose to do one of two things. One, they can increase their opponents life points by 500 and draw one card. Two, they could take 500 damage to discard a card from their opponents hand. It becomes a balancing game. You could take 500 damage to force me to discard a card, and I could then give you 500 to draw a card, so neither would have accomplished anything."  
  
Joey barely suppressed a grimace, realizing that this would make the game much more difficult. With this sort of card in play he had to be very careful with this choices he made, because it just might be the most crucial part of this duel. "Aight Kaiba, what are you gonna choose?"  
  
The older duelist smirked as he reached a hand out to the pillar of fire and beckoned it towards him. "I'll inflict 500 damage to myself to discard one card from your hand. So go ahead and toss it away!"   
  
A tendril of flame shot forth from the pillar and wrapped around Kaiba's body, inflicting minor damage to his life points. Joey grimaced as he discarded one card from his hand...he just hoped it was the right choice. (KLP: 3500)  
  
Drawing to recover, Joey examined what he had gotten and grinned at his luck. This just might work after all. Kaiba smirked when he saw the grin on his opponents face, a sure sign that overblown confidence was about to get the better of Wheeler. "Here ya go Kaiba, another choice for you to make. "I play Painful Decisions!"  
  
Kaiba watched with interest as Wheeler drew two more cards, and held them in his right hand, separate from the rest of his cards. The confident grin appeared to be even bigger as he started to explain the card. "By playing this card I have to draw two cards from the top of my deck. Then you have to choose one of the two cards, without looking at em."  
  
"What happens to the card that I pick?"  
  
Joey grinned wider as he continued his explanation of the card. "It all depends on what kind of card it was that you chose. If it's a trap or a magic card I have to discard both of em. But if you pick a monster then I can special summon it, no matter what its level is."  
  
Kaiba inspected his opponents grinning face and came to a conclusion. Both of the cards were monsters, so no matter which one he picked the amateur was going to be getting an extra monster this turn. He sneered and finally decided which one he was going to choose, it wasn't like it mattered either way. "I pick the one on the right side."  
  
Wheeler grinned and slapped the monster onto one of the zones in triumph, adding the other card directly to his hand of two cards, making it three. "Time to meet the result of your own decision Moneybags! Meet Jinzo!"  
  
**********************************  
  
The fist that Drake threw slammed into the wall making a resounding explosive sound echo through the large room. Snarling he pulled his now bleeding hand back and glared at the Kaiba's assistant, the referee of this tournament. "You officious jackass! Screw Kaiba! I couldn't care less if he's here or not since he's not in this tournament anymore!"  
  
The duelists and onlookers around him watched as he paced up and down in a fury, refusing to wait the half an hour that Roland had suggested it would take. In the state that Drake was in, making him wait any longer then he already had to was a definite mistake. "Its not just Mr. Kaiba. Mr. Wheeler is also not present, and Mr. Kaiba ordered me to hold the tournament for at least thirty minutes. It might be that long, it might take longer, but getting angry won't help at all."  
  
Drake grimaced and whirled around to continue his pacing. As Yugi watched he began to wonder if something else was causing Drake's great anger. Something in his eyes had changed when Kirani collapsed at the end of her duel with Taichi. They had seemed to know each other, but they hadn't appeared close enough to each other that what Taichi had done would cause him to react this way.   
  
"Something else is definitely making him act this way, and it can't be something good."  
  
********************  
  
The three gravekeepers charged blindly forwards intent upon skewering Taichi with their blades, but because it was Taichi who had initiated the blind charge, it seemed certain that a trap was waiting. "I activate my two remaining face down cards, Infernal Calamity and Dark Room of Nightmare!"  
  
The two face down cards flipped up, and Taichi's trap card sent a chilling wave of air over the three gravekeepers. The three monsters collapsed under the assault of the miasma and sank through the fire to fall into the ocean below.   
  
"When your monsters attacked I was allowed to activate Infernal Calamity, a trap card that sends all monsters on the field to the cemetery. Because of your own Skull Invitation you'll lose three hundred life points for each monster, but the fun doesn't stop there!"  
  
Shadi grimaced as his own trap card unleashed a spirit that curled around him and squeezed, draining him of life points. As it did so a jet of flame erupted from around his feet and licked at his skin, burning away pieces of his clothing. When the flames settled the lower half of his pant legs were mostly gone, and his legs slightly burnt. (SLP: 3100)  
  
"My other card, Dark Room of Nightmare, is specifically designed to make damaging your life points without an attack all the more profitable. Every time you take damage that isn't from battle, my dark room will deal 300 more points to you. So get ready for the same pain a second time in a row!"   
  
The flames erupted around him fiercer then before, scorching his flesh and burning the sleeves of his outer robe. He forced himself to remain standing, otherwise he'd burn himself further. If he didn't stay strong then it would be his head that payed the price, and possibly the world. (SLP: 2200)  
  
"Your traps have cost you as well. Because they go to the cemetery after activation you too lose 300 points per card, so I remain in the lead." The spirit burst from Shadi's card and wrapped about Taichi, squeezing the insane man just as it had previously squeezed its master. Accompanying it were the flames that had struck before, taking their toll on Taichi to a lesser degree then what they had done to Shadi.  
  
(TLP: 1900) Taichi smirked as he drew his card, making seven to his hand. In satisfaction he slipped two more cards into his magic/trap slots and then placed a monster onto the field as well. Shadi recognized its demonic nature as soon as it appeared.   
  
"I summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500) in attack mode. But I don't intend to attack, instead I intend to use the effect of my permanent magic card, Forfeit The Soul. I sacrifice the soul of my Demon Soldier to increase my life points by 1900!" The demon let out a cry of pain as its soul was literally ripped out of its body and absorbed by Taichi, who let out a satisfied sigh as his wounds lessened and Shadi's bridge receded.   
  
(TLP: 3800) "Now that I have more life points I think its about time I did what I've been doing through most of this duel...drawing cards! I play Treasure of Hell, letting us both draw from the bottom of our decks until we both have six cards in our hands!"   
  
As Taichi's life points trickled down with a lick of flame the two duelists ejected their decks from the slots and drew until they had the right number of cards. Shadi drew six and Taichi drew three. (TLP: 3500)   
  
"It would appear that I have no demon monsters on the field...in fact there are no demon monsters at all. I guess that means I have to play Demon Puppetry, a magic card that lets me special summon on demon sub-type from my hand to the field if no demon sub-type exists on the field. So I'll summon Hell Poemer(2000/1000) in attack mode!"   
  
A strange demon took up the field, carrying a cross upon its back. Shadi shuddered at the dark feeling he got from the monster, but felt confident that he had this duel under control. "I don't think I'll attack, so that ends my turn."   
  
Shadi let a small smile touch his face as he began to implement his plan. "First I will play the magic card Diplomatic Immunity. During this turn I cannot take life point damage from effects of any sort, or through battle. Now, to continue I will play Gravekeeper Recruitment. By sacrificing one card with gravekeeper in its name from the field I may special summon one gravekeeper monster to the field from the hand."  
  
Gravekeeper's Servant shattered into a million particles and Shadi slammed his next monster onto the dueling field, ready to let the supreme monster of his deck take its place on the field. Before the end of this turn the tide would be in his favor, and his opponent would be finished.   
  
"I summon Gravekeeper's Chief(1900/1200) in attack mode. Now I will play one of the cards that will seal your fate. The field card, Sleeping Valley of the Pharaoh-Necrovalley!" As he spoke the field began to change, and the duel started to shift in Shadi's favor.   
  
*************************  
  
"Jinzo, I summon you in attack mode!" Kaiba scowled as the android erupted from its card and folded its arms in contempt of his traps. With a quick blast from his eyes, Kaiba's trap was destroyed. That wasn't anything huge, one monster wouldn't win the duel for Wheeler, no matter what its effect was.   
  
"Okay Kaiba, Jinzo will attack your mechanical dragon. Go Jinzo!" The android raised his arms and in between them rose a black orb of energy. Jinzo extended its arms and sent the blast flashing towards Kaiba's Y-Dragon.   
  
"Activate Command Silencer!" Joey gasped as a large totem pole appeared in front of Jinzo's attack. The dark ball of psychic energy evaporated into thin air before it touched the totem pole. Jinzo calmly folded its arms again and stepped backwards in respect for being thwarted.  
  
"Jinzo may be able to stop my trap cards, but Command Silencer is an instant magic card that negates your attack. However it also lets you draw a card." Joey added a fourth card to his hand and then quickly set it on the field. Then he motioned for Kaiba to go.  
  
"Oh...I guess I'll just take 500 damage to make you discard a card." Kaiba nodded and watched as the flame whipped about Wheeler, damaging his life points. It didn't take more then a single glance for him to decide which card to discard, and he did so with no regrets. He just hoped that he could keep his defenses long enough to fight back...this duel definitely wasn't going as planned.   
  
Kaiba drew and quickly played the card, hoping to improve his suddenly dwindling chances. "I play Pot of Greed." He drew the next two cards from the top of his deck and added them to his hand, grinning as he readied his combo.   
  
"First I'll discard one card to activate the cost of Cost Down. Next I'll sacrifice my Y-Dragon to summon the Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500) in attack mode!" Y-Dragon vanished in a blaze of energy as the massive white scaled dragon took its place. The mightiest of dragons let out an ear-splitting roar.   
  
Wheeler's two monsters back a few paces away before steadying their courage. Kaiba grinned and thrust his hand out toward the android and gave his Blue Eye's the order. "Now my Blue Eyes! Take flight and destroy Wheeler's android!"   
  
The massive dragon rose rapidly into the air and then let loose a stream of white energy that engulfed Jinzo utterly. After a few moments the dust settled, revealing that the android had indeed not survived the attack. "Kaiba, I'll take this opportunity to activate Sudden Windfall! Now during each of my standbye phases I roll a die, and I gain life points equal to that number times 100. If it's a six I get 1000 life points instead." (JLP: 2900)  
  
Kaiba growled and ended his turn, sacrificing five hundred life points to reduce Wheeler's hand to two again. (KLP: 3000) Wheeler drew and a holographic die appeared and bounced across the ground, coming up on a six. Kaiba growled again as Wheeler's life points raised to 3900, almost back to where he had started.   
  
"I'll switch Alligator Sword into defense mode, and then I'll give you 500 life points so I can draw a card. That'll be it."   
  
Kaiba smirked as he drew a card off his deck and quickly slammed it onto one of his monster zones. "La Jinn(1800/1000) in attack mode!" A green genie shimmered into view and folded his arms in contempt of Wheeler's defenses.   
  
"La Jinn, attack Alligator Sword and open a path for the Blue Eyes!" The genie extended his arms and placed his palms together, fingers pointing outwards. Then he launched a volley of green energy that splashed across Alligator Sword's chest, shattering it into millions of pieces.  
  
"Now that the way is clear, Blue Eyes, attack with Burst Stream!" The dragon roared and opened its mouth, issuing forth a stream of white energy that struck Wheeler in the chest and flung him a few feet backwards. The attack also nearly finished him off. (JLP: 900)   
  
"I'll finish this turn by sacrificing five hundred life points to discard a card from your hand." Wheeler casually discarded one card from his hand as Kaiba was struck by the jet of flame from Hibashira. (KLP: 2500)  
  
Joey drew his next card and watched as the Sudden Windfall die dropped to the ground and rolled a few feet, coming up as a three. (JLP: 1200) "Okay Kaiba, time to show you exactly how this duel is going to work out. You do something and I do something to counter it. That's the way it has to be. If I can't counter what you throw at me then I don't deserve to be in the finals."  
  
Kaiba watched as Wheeler slapped a card down on the field, and suddenly a tall warrior in yellow armor rose up to challenge his two monsters. "Because you've got two more monsters then I do I can special summon Fiend Megacyber(2200/1200) without any need of tribute. But that's not all I'm gonna do."  
  
With a sudden jolt Kaiba realized that Wheeler had intended this before hand. He had planned to let Kaiba attack directly so that he could special summon his monster. But what else did he have in mind? "Now, since I haven't summoned this turn, I'll summon Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) in attack mode."   
  
Wheeler's newest monster was a perfect duplicate of the Flame Swordsman, except that this one's clothing was blue where the other's was orange, and its sword was a dull navy color. Wheeler grinned as he placed a card in one of the magic/trap zones. "Now I equip Fiend Megacyber with Friend Slaying Demon Sword-Burning Soul. During this turn I can sacrifice one of my other monsters to increase the attack strength of my Megacyber by the sacrificed monsters attack power."  
  
Kaiba watched in horror as the yellow warrior gripped the burning blade and whirled on Blue Flame Swordsman, slashing the swordsman in half. Megacyber's attack strength rose to 4000 and the burning blade burned brighter then ever before.   
  
There was another burst of flame, and where the swordsman had previously stood the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) stood in its place, sword held at the ready. "I thought ahead Kaiba, I knew I couldn't afford to give you any chances, so I used my Blue Flame Swordsman. When he goes to the cemetery I can special summon one Flame Swordsman, no matter where it exists."  
  
Kaiba snarled as the yellow warrior hefted his new weapon and eyed Kaiba's dragon with contempt. With one attack Wheeler could all but decimate his life points...but if he did that Kaiba would have an open path to the fools life points with his Blue Eyes. "Megacyber, attack the Blue Eyes!"   
  
Megacyber hauled back and hurled its blade straight at Kaiba's Blue Eyes. Without a chance to dodge the dragon was speared in the chest by the blade and was engulfed by flames and destroyed within seconds. (KLP: 1500) "Since you've got no cards I'm forced to return five hundred life points to you so I can draw 1 card. End turn."  
  
(KLP: 2000) Kaiba drew and quickly slipped the card into his disk, grimacing as he did so. "I'll set one card face down on the field, and then switch La Jinn into defense mode. Then I'll take 500 damage to force you to discard one card from your hand. Back to you Wheeler."   
  
(KLP: 1500) A lick of flame struck Joey and he carefully chose a card and placed it into the graveyard. Then he drew and watched as the die fell and rolled to a halt on a four. "Looks like I'm in the lead now Kaiba. So I guess I'll set one card face down, and have Blue Flame Swordsman attack La Jinn!"  
  
The swordsman charged across the field and sliced right through Kaiba's genie, and then quickly returned to his previous place on the field. With no monsters on the field, Kaiba was now in trouble, big trouble. With one attack Joey could finish him off, and he intended to do just that.   
  
"Fiend Megacyber, attack Kaiba directly!"  
  
*****************************  
  
Shadi let a small smile touch his face as he slipped one card onto the field, watching as the brown-backed card materialized above the platform of fire. "I'll set one card face down, and now I'll play Dark Designator. The monster I choose to call to your hand is Exodia the Forbidden One."  
  
Taichi smirked and flipped through his deck before calmly adding the card to his hand, giving him a total of five cards. Those five cards would help Shadi in this duel quite significantly. "Now it is time to seal your fate with one magic card. I play Card Destruction!"   
  
Taichi casually shoved his five cards into his cemetery and drew five new ones. However his nonchalance didn't last long when the flames burst up around him, scorching his skin. The young duelist let out a brief cry of pain before the flames subsided, leaving him weaker then before. (TLP: 1700) "So Shadi, will you attack me with your powered up Gravekeeper's Chief?"  
  
Shadi shook his head, and passed to Taichi, glancly briefly at his own bridge. It was getting closer Alcatraz Island with each turn. Now that Exodia was impossible for Taichi to summon, things looked to be in Shadi's favor. "Well now...I summon a second Demon Soldier in attack mode, and instantly use its soul to restore my life points!"  
  
The Demon Soldier let out a feral cry as its soul was ripped away, and Taichi smirked silently as the soul entered his body, healing his wounds and restoring his life points. (TLP: 3600) "Now my Hell Poemer will attack Gravekeeper's Chief!"   
  
Shadi was shocked that Taichi would do such a thing...perhaps he was trying to get Shadi to use up his traps for Taichi's real move. Shadi would not fall for such a trick. He put on a cold face as the demon launched itself at his chief, only to be beaten back and crushed by the spellcaster's snake staff. (TLP: 2900) "Oh well, guess you'll just have to go eh Shadi?"  
  
Shadi drew and looked the field over. He had the traps to stop any assault Taichi might make, but this newest attack seemed foolish. The only other option was that Taichi was trying to goad Shadi into attacking, another trick he wouldn't fall for. "I shall end my turn without doing anything."  
  
Taichi smirked as a ghostly hand reached out of Shadi's duel disk and snatched up the card he held in his hand, dragging it into the cemetery. "Shadi, perhaps you should have asked what Hell Poemer is capable of. You see when he goes to the graveyard through battle he starts to play a hellish song, that at the end of your battle phase will randomly discard one card from your hand."  
  
Shadi quickly calculated what would happen and realized that he had damned himself this turn. By not doing anything he cut down his options by losing a card, and he would lose six hundred life points from the combination of both his own and Taichi's cards.   
  
A gout of flame rose up and struck Shadi in the chest, knocking him nearly over the edge of the flame platform. Breathing hard, the guardian of the sennen items watched as his life points trickled down, putting Taichi farther in the lead by extending his flame bridge. (SLP: 1600)  
  
Taichi smirked and drew again, putting his hand back up to five cards. The duelist extended one hand as he intoned his next command. "I activate the trap card Necromantic Riddle. Without looking at your graveyard I can guess what type, monster, magic, or trap, the top card is. If I get it right then you can't play any cards in your next turn. If I get it wrong then my turn ends immediately and I can't play any my next turn."  
  
A pair of ghostly hands reached out and pulled a card from the ground, facing away from Taichi. The dark haired duelist smirked and rubbed his chin in thought for a few moments before taking a guess. "You know, I think it was a monster card that got discarded wasn't it?"  
  
Shadi grimaced as the card flipped around, revealing Gravekeeper's Shield Maiden, a level six monster. Laughing at Shadi's discomfort Taichi slipped a card onto one of his monster zones. Then he activated his other face down card. "I'll set a monster in defense, and activate Jar of Greed to give me an extra card. Now I'll set one magic or trap card and end my turn."  
  
Shadi drew and then made his decision. He would have to attack, otherwise this duel might end badly for him. "Gravekeeper's Chief, attack his defense monster!" The gravekeeper extended his staff and a jet of poison shot forth from the serpent's mouth striking Taichi's defense monster.  
  
For the brief second that it appeared before being dissolved by the poison a simple sphere could be seen. To Shadi's surprise two more of them appeared on the field, floating there. "You've struck the Giant Germ. When you destroy him in battle he deals you five hundred damage and then I can summon any others from my deck in attack mode. Of course we both lose life points from this, though you come out worse."   
  
Shadi gasped as his turn ended and the fire roared about his body, nearly choking him in its ferocity. His harsh scream of agony echoed all the way down to the water, but none heard it despite how loud it was. With no cards in his hand, a handful of life points left, and Taichi's bridge nearly touching ground it would seem that his end had come. (TLP: 2600, SLP: 200)  
  
Taichi smirked and slapped his newest card onto the field, revealing another Demon Soldier. "I'll remove all three of my monsters from the game to raise my life points by their attack strength!" The three monsters souls erupted from their bodies and joined with Taichi, raising his life points far above their previous levels. (TLP: 6500)   
  
"Now I activate the trap card, Return From The Abyss! When activated it lets me special summon in whatever mode I want, any of my monsters that were removed from the game. As many as my field can fit. So I return the three Demon Soldiers and the two Giant Germs!"   
  
In the space of a few seconds an army had assembled in front of Taichi, ready to obey his slightest command. Three demonic monsters and two floating gobs of goo. "I remove the three Demon Soldiers from the game once more!" None of the demons had a chance to express anything other then surprise before their lives were ended as quickly as they had been returned to them.   
  
(TLP: 12200) "Go ahead you fool, your doomed no matter what you do. Should you get a useless card that you can't play, as soon as you end your turn you'll lose that card and your last life points. You can't attack or else my germ's effect would finish you. If you can use your card but it isn't incredibly useful, then you'll just give me another chance to destroy you. So what do you say to that?"  
  
Shadi clenched his eyes and drew his next card, knowing that it might very well be his last. If he didn't get something that could be used he would be doomed at the end of this turn! "Ra, help your faithful servant this one time, I beg of you."  
  
*****************************  
  
"Activate Pineapple Bomb!" A large pineapple appeared in front of Fiend Megacyber and then exploded blasting both Megacyber and Flame Swordsman into dust. Wheeler gasped as his field was wiped clean, making him even with Kaiba.   
  
"Pineapple Bomb lets me destroy your monsters when you have more then I do up to the point that we have an equal number. Since I had none, your down to zero as well. Will that be all?" Wheeler grimaced and shook his head, giving the command to raise Kaiba's life points so he could draw. (KLP: 2000)  
  
Kaiba smirked as he added another card to his hand, and quickly played it. "I summon Battle Ox(1700/1000) in attack mode and then I have it attack you!" The brutish minotaur roared and swung its axe at Wheeler, but it was stopped when one of Wheeler's cards flipped up.   
  
"I chain your attack with Graverobber! And I'm stealing Pineapple Bomb from you cemetery to use on you!" A ghoulish imp appeared and hefted Kaiba's Pineapple Bomb card, which exploded and shattered his Battle Ox, leaving him defenseless.   
  
"I doubt that you'll get a monster in your next draw, but even if you do it would need two thousand attack points or over to finish me off. So good luck in drawing."  
  
Joey smirked as his other face down card flipped up, revealing a woman who appeared to be having some sort of premonition. Tiny bolts were streaking towards her head, a probable sign of precognition.   
  
"I'm about to get a bit of help in the drawing area if I'm lucky. See, when Sixth Sense is activated I name two numbers between one and six. A die is rolled and if one of the two numbers I named comes up, I draw that many cards. If its not a number I named then I discard a number of cards from the top of my deck equal to the number on the die. I choose three and six...so lets see that dice roll!"  
  
Kaiba watched in fascination as the die rolled end over end across the space between them. If it came up right then Wheeler just might win here and now, but if he got it wrong then he'd be in worse shape then he was before. Kaiba watched as it bounced over five, then one, then to three, to six, to two, to one, and finally it came to rest on....  
  
SIX! Wheeler smirked and drew six cards into his hand, grinning like an idiot the whole time. As it came time to end his turn, Kaiba realized that he HAD to give Wheeler life points, otherwise he could easily lose. "I give you five hundred life points to draw one card."  
  
A soothing flame brushed about Wheeler, raising his life points and putting him in the lead. Then the duelist drew and the Sudden Windfall die rolled. The die came up as a five and Wheeler's life points raised yet again, giving him a further advantage. (JLP: 2600) "Kaiba, I guess its time to end this."  
  
Kaiba held his breath in his throat, hardly believing that he might actually lose to this amateur. How could Wheeler possibly have done so well, how could this have happened? "I summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600) in attack mode. Now to finish this duel I'll play the magic card, Gear Pride!"   
  
An armored warrior appeared in front of Wheeler and hefted a deadly looking weapon on its arm. Its attack wasn't quite enough to finish Kaiba, but it was too close for comfort.   
  
"Kaiba, a long time ago a mighty warrior roamed the land. His power was so great that he was called the Juggernaut. Nothing could stop his implacable might. But one day, to control that great power, he was placed in special armor that kept his power in check. Now I release Gearfreed from the bondage of his restraining armor in order to release the full power of the unarmored Gearfreed....Freed the Juggernaut(2600/2000)!"  
  
Kaiba's eyes widened as the armor that had covered Gearfreed fell away from the warrior's body, revealing a muscular man with long black hair. An eerie aura surrounded the newly unveiled warrior, an aura that struck Kaiba with the reality of the situation. He was going to lose.   
  
"Freed, attack his life points directly!" The warrior flashed across the field with incredible speed and struck Kaiba across the jaw, sending him flying backwards. Moments later, as his life point counter ticked down to zero, the holograms vanished, and Kaiba understood defeat.   
  
Kaiba stood and set one card on the ground, then turned and started walking towards the Duel Tower. He had a tournament to get back under way, he didn't have time to waste with pleasantries. "You won Wheeler...my respect."   
  
Joey watched Kaiba walk away and then walked over to the card and picked it up. Flipping it over he saw the image of a white dragon staring back at him...the reward for winning an official Battle City duel. The loser's rarest card...the Blue Eyes White Dragon. "Thanks Kaiba...now I'm definitely ready to give this tournament my all."  
  
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A short woman with medium length black hair knocked at the door of a fairly small home owned by a family friend. Her friend had promised to call her a few days ago, and so far she hadn't responded to any calls to the house. "Mitsune! Mitsune are you there?"   
  
Using the key she had been given a year ago the short woman unlocked the door and entered, looking around for any sign of her friend. "Mitsune? Hello!" For the most part the house looked clean, a little dusty but not the worse for wear.   
  
Coming around the corner to the kitchen Mitsune was met with a terrible sight, and she did the only rational thing. She screamed.  
  
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Author's Note: There ya go, another decently long chapter with dueling in em. Oh, and any card that you don't recognize is probably my creation, so don't steal it please. I thank any of my reviewers who might actually exist and hope you continue to enjoy. Also, the effect of Pineapple Bomb is different then what is given here, I changed it to suit my purposes. This happens and will continue to happen whenever I deem it necessary. If you are offended by this, I really don't care because that's just you nitpicking.   
  
Original Cards  
  
Taichi's: Forfeit the Soul, Hellish Accountant, Blind Attack, Treasure of Hell, Demon Puppetry, Necromantic Riddle, Return From The Abyss,   
  
Kaiba: Hibashira  
  
Shadi: Diplomatic Immunity, Gravekeeper Recruitement, Gravekeeper's Shield Maiden(As it wasn't played I'll give its info farther down on the page)   
  
Joey: Sudden Windfall  
  
Gravekeeper's Shield Maiden(Dark/Spellcaster/6/1800/2500)  
  
Effect: When this monster goes to the cemetery from the field you may special summon Gravekeeper monsters from your deck with total levels equal to six or less in face down defense mode.   
  
Next Time: The next round of the Battle City finals commences and Joey gets the chance to prove just what he's capable of. Joey takes on the ultimate challenge at the same time that a Domino City News Report shocks Kaiba. The duel between Shadi and Taichi comes to a close! 


	15. Destiny and Determination: The Struggle ...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Author's Note: This chapter has mentions of the 'Devil' and has some rather violent undertones during certain parts. There is no blood, but there is death. If this offends anyone I apologize, but I decided that these things were necessary in this chapter to further the story. A further note is that this story will get darker as things go, at least for the most part.   
  
Chapter Fourteen: Destiny and Determination: The Struggle for Truth  
  
Officer Mimono hadn't been having a very good day. First he'd been stuck breaking up a fight caused by this stupid Battle City thing that had half the streets in the city blocked off. After that he'd checked in on his mail only to discover that he had been passed up for promotion yet again.   
  
That wasn't the end of it either! No, it got worse after that. A quick stop home during his lunch break had ended with him throwing a guy out of his house...his girlfriend had been cheating on him. Their relationship had been summarily ended and he had dumped her out in the street as well.  
  
The sudden crackle over the CB Radio alerted him to an incoming call, giving him time to pick up the receiver. "Officer Mimono, we've received a call requesting police assisting from District Building 13, as the closest officer available you are being dispatched to the scene."  
  
"Roger that." Letting out a groan Mimono turned the car around and headed towards District Building 13. For some reason he was getting the strange feeling that his day was about to get even worse.  
  
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"This is Dispatcher 1183 calling for any ambulance within the area of District Building 13 to head towards said location. I repeat, this is a call for any ambulance within the area of District Building 13 to head towards said location. And...bring a cleaning crew with you."  
  
The ambulance driver on the other end blinked in surprised and repeated the dispatcher's words under his breath. Finally he picked up the CB radio and radioed in a response. "Dispatcher 1183....what do you mean a cleaning crew?"  
  
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When Officer Mimono arrived at the scene he found a short woman with medium length black hair sitting against the door, sobbing hysterically. Mimono leaned in, straining to hear the words that the woman was muttering intermittently between sobs.   
  
"A devil...a devil...a devil..." Mimono crouched down so he was at the woman's level and reached a hand out towards her shoulder to help calm her down. Before his hand reached her shoulder the woman jerked back and screamed. "He's a Devil!"   
  
Mimono shook his head, knowing that nothing he could do could help this woman. Whatever she had seen had traumatized her, and it would be up to psychologists in the department to figure out how to break through the trauma.   
  
Letting out a sigh he stood and started searching the building for anything that might give him information on what had happened. He stopped at the entrance to the kitchen at the sight of a small red light, blinking on the answer machine.   
  
Mimono clicked the play button and waited. After a few moments a teenager's voice came on, it sounded panicked. "Mom, I need some help. I'm in some strange room and the window overlooks the sea...I think I'm on a plane but I don't know how I got here. Something's going on and I really need your he~"   
  
Mimono's eyes narrowed as a gurgling sound overtook the kids voice. The voice then returned, but this time with a sharper edge to it. It was like the kid had become a different person. "Taking control while I slept huh? Looks like you've got a stronger will then I gave you credit for. But your mistake was calling your mother because she's not around any longer...she annoyed me to much."   
  
The message ended and Mimono shook his head. Craziness like that would definitely have to be analyzed by the psychologists. But when the voice cut off her realized that he had been hearing another noise since the voices changed. "He's a devil, he's a devil, he's a devil..."   
  
That crazy woman was repeating that over and over again. Did that mean that the kid had something to do with this. What he had said at the end hinted that it very well could have been. Groaning at his bad luck today he turned the corner into the kitchen and stopped dead.   
  
Glossing over the rest of the carnage he forced his eyes to the red writing on the wall and what it said. It was like he was drawn to it, unable to look away from those simple words. "For what was, for what is, and for what shall be."  
  
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Joey let out a quiet groan as he stretched his back. His duel with Kaiba had been a tough one, but though he felt good about winning he had gotten something negative from the duel. When he was blasted backwards by one of Kaiba's attacks his back had twisted a bit, and now the muscles in his lower back were aching.   
  
He had decided, before they even got off the blimp, that in order to truly deserve a spot in the tournament so he could help Yugi he would have to back up any and all challenges he made. He had challenged Kaiba, so he had to back that challenge up. He had, and now he was glad for it, because he felt readier then ever before for whatever happened.  
  
The duel very well might have turned out differently if Kaiba hadn't used that Hibashira card. Kaiba had probably figured that Joey wouldn't be able to use a card like that to his own advantage or even be able to cancel Kaiba's moves out like he had. Guess Kaiba hadn't thought that move through completely.   
  
"Yugi Motou and Joey Wheeler, please report to the dueling arena for the commencement of the first duel of the quarter finals." Joey straightened up and shot a glance over towards his buddy who was already in his Yami mode, rode for the duel ahead. Idly he wondered what his friend was thinking at that moment, whether he had put as much thought as Joey had into the upcoming duels. Yeah probably, but maybe not enough.  
  
The two duelists...no, the two friends caught each others eyes and nodded slightly before the entered the elevator that would take them to the top of Duel Tower where the rest of the finals would be held. As they were whisked to the top their friends and various others took a separate elevator so they could watch the duel from the sidelines.   
  
The two friends stopped at the last point before they would take their places, the point where they would turn ways to head to opposite sides. In mere moments they would become opponents, dueling not for fun, but for what quite possibly could be the very fate of the world itself.   
  
Joey took a deep breath and placed his hand on the younger duelist's shoulder, giving him a reassuring grin. "Other Yugi, I know all this stuff that's happening right now is a big deal, but this is something that we have to do, not me and you, but me and Yugi. We have to make up for what happened with Malik's mind controlling earlier."  
  
Yami nodded in acceptance, and with a flash of light he shifted into the smaller form of Yugi. The young dueling prodigy looked up at his older friend and returned the reassuring smile that he was being given. "I understand Joey. We'll make this a good duel, I promise you that."  
  
Joey grinned and started on his way over to the other side of the dueling ring, waving over his shoulder at Yugi as the short duelist shifted back into Yami mode. "I'll give as good as I get Yuge. Ya mind if I start us off?"  
  
The former Pharaoh nodded his assent and the two duelists drew their opening hands. Yami's of five cards, and Joey's of six. The counters on their duel disks rose to 4000 each as the referee announced the start of the first quarter final duel.   
  
Joey perused his hand and then formulated a his first move. It was a good hand, and it'd be a good start, or at least he hoped so. "I'll set two cards face down, and then I'm gonna summon Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) in attack mode!"  
  
The alternate blue version of Joey's favorite monster appeared on the field and let out a vague monster that sound that most monsters seemed to make. Behind it appeared to brown-backed cards, hovering just above the ground. From below one of the cards could be seen to be some sort of...weapon.  
  
Yami glanced over his hand and discovered only decent cards. Based on what he had in his hand it would be better for him to start by defending. Joey still had a tendency to attack without thinking about the consequences first and that could be to his advantage in this situation.   
  
"I'll set one card face down and place a monster in defense mode. That will end my turn." Yami narrowed his eyes as he looked over Joey's monster. A monster so similar to Joey's favorite monster but with its own distinct differences. Did the monster have an effect? When did Joey get it?   
  
Joey drew and kept his face cool as his slipped his newest card into one of his magic/trap zones. Yet another surprise waiting for Yugi whenever his next turn rolled around. Joey intended to give Yami a top quality duel, so he'd be give his best in this duel, maybe better if he could. "I'll set this one card face down, and now I'll summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600) in attack mode. Gearfreed, attack his defense monster!"  
  
The iron knight surged across the field like an unstoppable force and swung its bladed arm down upon Yugi's defensive card. There was a bright flash of light and a resounding clang.   
  
The light faded, revealing a dark-haired warrior crouched behind a massive shield. The warrior shoved backwards with his shield, sending Gearfreed staggering backwards. Yami grinned and held up a clenched fist in triumph. "You've struck my Big Shield Gardna(100/2600)! Because its defense points were higher then your monster's attack you end up losing life points!"  
  
(JLP: 3200) Joey grinned and then pointed his finger at Yami's warrior who was just now standing up and setting his shield to the side. "Big Shield Gardna still has that one minor bad point, where when its attacked it afterwards switches to attack mode. With an attack strength that low its easy prey for my other monster. Blue Flame Swordsman, take it out!"  
  
The swordsman leapt into the fray with zeal, hoping to outdo its fellow warrior Gearfreed. Yami, however, had no intention of letting that happen. "Open trap card, Mirror Force!"   
  
Joey smirked and extended his hand to indicate one of his two face down cards, which flipped up to reveal a swiss army knife. "At a cost of a thousand life points I can activate Seven Tools of the Bandit to negate and destroy your trap card!" The knife flew out of the trap and sliced straight through the barrier created by Mirror Force, opening the way for Blue Flame Swordsman to cut straight through Big Shield Gardna.   
  
(YLP: 2300, JLP: 2200) Yami grimaced and drew another card, adding to his hand something he didn't want to use in this duel or in any other but knew eventually he might have to. "I'll summon Gamma the Magnet Warrior!"   
  
"Activate Bottomless Trap Hole!" Yami's eyes went wide as his magnet warrior vanished into the pit as soon as it was summoned. Without a monster he was completely defenseless! With two monsters of such strength Joey had the certain advantage...but he could even the odds somewhat himself.   
  
"Alright Joey, I'll play the magic card Fissure! Normally it would destroy your monster with the weakest attack strength, but because both of your monsters have an equal attack I can choose which one is destroyed. I'll destroy your Gearfreed!"   
  
A cracking line of earth shot towards the iron knight in order to take it into the grave, but at the last moment Joey's remaining face down card flipped up, and the line of cracking earth was redirected to consume Blue Flame Swordsman instead. "My trap card Shift lets me switch your target to a monster of my choosing, and I select the Blue Flame Swordsman!"  
  
"But why destroy him instead of Gearfreed? They both have identical stats." Yami's question was answered as soon as Blue Flame Swordsman had vanished. In a burst of flame Joey's favorite monster took the place of its look alike, ready to do battle.   
  
For future use Yami stored away the knowledge that when the Blue Flame Swordsman was destroyed the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) was summoned in its place. "Very well Joey, I'll set one card face down and end my turn."   
  
Joey drew and then picked out two of his three cards and played them. "First I summon Axe Raider(1700/1150) in attack mode. Then I'll set one card face down. Now I'm gonna have all three of my monsters attack you directly!"   
  
Flame Swordsman, Gearfreed, and the newly summoned axe wielding warrior charged across the field ready to strike Yami down. Abruptly a massive chain erupted from the grave, dragging with it the card 'Mirror Force'.   
  
Yami smirked as he took one card out of his hand and slipped it into his cemetery slot. "You've forced the activation of my Grave Chain trap card. By discarding a card from my hand I can chain your attack with the activation of a trap from my own cemetery, in this case Mirror Force to destroy all of your monsters!"   
  
A giant field of blue energy suddenly engulfed the field, and seconds later all cards were back in their previous positions. Yami's trap was gone, but it was now as if Joey's monsters had never attacked.   
  
"I figured you might have some sort of trap waiting for me, so I decided I'd make you sure you couldn't use it to hurt me in any way. The quick play magic card Absolute Negation lets me negate all attacks for the turn, and also destroys any and all other magic or trap cards that were activated before it was. Guess you came out the worse for wear in that go around eh Yami?"  
  
The smile that blossomed on the ancient ruler's face was on of determination and satisfaction. "Perhaps Joey, but it also helped me slightly. You see the card I discarded was Repayment of Losses, and when it goes to the cemetery I can draw one card."   
  
Drawing two cards the ruler increased his hand to three cards. Next he played one of those three cards. "I play the magic card Pot of Greed." He glanced over the four cards he had in his hand and decided to bluff his way through the next turn. It very well might work. He slipped two cards into his magic/trap slots and watched as the representative holograms appeared in front of him. Then he set a monster onto this field.   
  
"I'll summon Magician's Valkyrie(1600/1800) in defense mode and set two cards face down on the field. Back to you Joey." Yami's newest monster was a near duplicate of the Dark Magician Girl, however the staff she carried was much different. Otherwise they were essentially the same. Its effect was what truly made it useful.   
  
At the start of Joey's turn the duelist added a magic card to his hand to go along with the trap he already had. Well, in a case like this he might be able to get rid of the threat of Yugi's face down cards quicker then he might have thought. "I'll start off by setting one card face down."  
  
The brown-backed card appeared behind this three monsters, ready for activation. "Now I'll activate Bait Doll! This magic card forces the activation of your two face down cards, and if it isn't the right timing for their activation they get destroyed!"   
  
Yami's eyes widened in horror as he looked from his face down cards to the one card he had left in his hand. This wasn't good, not good at all. He grimaced as his two cards, Magical Hats and Exchange were revealed. Because of their activation four silk hats covered Magician's Valkyrie.   
  
The two friends walked across the field in between the monsters so they could exchange cards. However because Joey no longer had any cards in his hand Yugi was unable to get anything out of the card's activation. Joey on the other hand nearly freaked out when he saw the card he had just taken from Yugi.   
  
"Well Yugi, its worth the risk for me to make this next attack, so I command all three of my monsters to each attack of the four hats!" The three monsters stepped up in front of one hat apiece and casually sliced their designated hat in half, each one falling apart to reveal nothing but air. With no other hats remaining the final one vanished and Magician's Valkyrie was revealed.   
  
"Joey, I tried to talk to you about this before we got off the blimp. I know this duel means a lot to you and Yugi but you can't hope to win. It is my destiny to defeat the coming evil and that means that I'm going to win this duel no matter how hard you try."   
  
Joey chuckled and raised on finger to point at the puzzle that hung from the spirit's neck. His playful demeanor quickly became serious as he started to speak. "Ya know, Yugi has a better personality then you do. He's a good and honest kid, and what makes him better then you is that as good as he is, he doesn't have a big fat ego like you do!"  
  
Everyone gasped in shock, including the pharaoh himself. However Kaiba couldn't help but laugh to himself at Yugi's discomfort at being told he had a big ego. He still didn't believe in all that pharaoh stuff, but it was certainly funny anyway.   
  
"You talk about you and your destiny all the time and you think that a bunch of crap spewed out by some ancient Egyptians means that you're special. Well face the facts, your not any better then anyone else. And you certainly can't always rely on words to determine your courage."  
  
For the first time since the spirit had first come to know Joey he was becoming mad at the blond duelist. How dare Joey say such things to him? What right did he have? "What are you talking about? It is my destiny!"  
  
Joey grinned and held up the card he had taken from Yami in front of his eyes. He stared at it for a moment before looking back at his opponent. Yami wanted to know, then he'd know.   
  
"You say that its your destiny to win, but your taking that for granted, getting your courage from something that isn't as simple as you seem to thing it is. I believe in destiny and all that, but destiny doesn't come without effort, you can't just sit back idly and expect to win because its destiny. You have to really try and put forth the effort and courage on your part, not because you just believe its going to happen."  
  
The blond duelist casually picked the monster cards up off his duel disc and shoved them into his cemetery slot in order to make a sacrifice. It was time for him to end his turn, time for him to show what he was made of.  
  
"If you think your destiny makes you special then your going to have to give me your all to prove it! If you keep playing like an amateur then your bound to lose and then destiny, the future that your so certain of, that'll all change! If its your destiny to save the world from evil then you can't do it juts because you feel like it! I'll make you see the truth by either beating you in this duel or making you duel harder then you ever have before!"  
  
Joey slammed the card down onto one of his monster zones and watched as the scene unfolded before him. First his three monsters shattered into holographic particles, and then the sky above them darkened. Storm clouds rolled in and bolts of lightning flashed across the sky. Real lightning, not holographic lightning.   
  
The lightning cracked down around them and Joey felt a strange pulsing throughout his body. An echo to the power that was emerging from the clouds above, piece by piece. Yami's heart pounded so loud it was deafening to his ears as the mightiest monster he possessed dropped from the clouds in all its glory. Hundreds of feet long and deadly looking was a mighty two-mouthed dragon.   
  
"I'm about the show you that pure force of will and determination are a hell of a lot more important then destiny. Without that same determination and iron will all the destiny in the world can't accomplish anything. So to prove it I'm going to defeat you with the card you worked so hard for, a card only those who are the greatest of duelists can use! Saint Dragon Osiris(0000/0000) will be your downfall!"  
  
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Seto Kaiba stopped watching the duel when a voice came on through his ear piece. Mokuba was trying to tell him something. "Seto, you should come down to the main control room right now. There's something on the news that you have to see."  
  
Kaiba grunted back a response and turned from the duel, heading for the main control room as fast as he could. Normally nothing could tear him away from a duel like the one he was watching, but there had been a sense of urgency in Mokuba's voice that spurred him onwards.   
  
He burst into the room and stopped as he looked upon the various screens across the control room. Only one screen in the corner was devoted to the duel, now the rest were showing one image from the same perspective. It was the perspective of a TV camera, following a reporter in their report on what was behind them.  
  
"At the moment we are unable to enter this part of District Building 13, current home of the wife of former Mayor Takashi Nobuki and her sixteen year old son, Taichi Nobuki. A little bit earlier today a friend of the family discovered the remains of Mitsune Nobuki who had been brutally murdered sometime within the past two days. The police have yet to confirm the time of death. At the moment Taichi is at an unknown location and is very possibly being held hostage."  
  
The man in front of the camera turned as a medical crew exited the building pushing along a moving table with a once white cloth covering something. The cloth was soaked through until it was nearly completely crimson, and the shape underneath the cloth only vaguely resembled a human body.   
  
"Ladies and gentlemen the scene you see behind me is a gruesome one, but barely up to par with what is within the home itself. In all my years of reporting I've never seen anything as sickening as what was discovered. I am perfectly willing to admit that when I first caught a glimpse of the carnage I was unable to keep my food down. Our hearts go out to Taichi Nobuki, and we hope that he is safe, wherever he is."  
  
Kaiba grabbed the remote and muted it, his breath coming out ragged and shallow. From what he had seen Taichi was mentally unstable, he was brutal and willing to cut his own flesh deeply because of some crazy faith. Taichi's mother...brutally murdered...and Kaiba knew who had killed her.   
  
"Mokuba, get on the phone and get in touch with the police. Tell them exactly how to get here and telling them that Taichi is here. And somebody find Taichi and make sure he doesn't leave the island!" Kaiba grimaced as everyone raced out of the room, leaving him alone to contemplate what was going on. His tournament was being torn apart, and what he had told Drake was true, he couldn't stop it, and he doubted the police could either.   
  
He couldn't tell anyone either, couldn't tell them that Taichi and Industrial Illusions had taken control of Kaiba Corps old military satellites. Couldn't let them know that if he didn't let the tournament continue then the missiles in those satellites would be launched, and all of Japan would be consumed in the apocalyptic fires.   
  
If Taichi wanted to he could burn almost the entire world to a cinder with a single command. With that single command he could reduce the population of the world to approximately 2% of its current size, it would be the end of the world.  
  
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"Go ahead you fool, your doomed no matter what you do. Should you get a useless card that you can't play, as soon as you end your turn you'll lose that card and your last life points. You can't attack or else my germ's effect would finish you. If you can use your card but it isn't incredibly useful, then you'll just give me another chance to destroy you. So what do you say to that?"  
  
Shadi clenched his eyes and drew his next card, knowing that it might very well be his last. If he didn't get something that could be used he would be doomed at the end of this turn! "Ra, help your faithful servant this one time, I beg of you."  
  
He pulled the card from of the holster and raised it up before his eyes. Letting out his breath in relief Shadi played the card to recover from his worsening situation. "I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy my own Skull Invitation!"  
  
The card appeared and sent a blast of lightning and air at Taichi's own trap card, shattering it into tiny pieces. Finally he was free of that bond, and he could survive this turn. However he couldn't attack Taichi's monsters, otherwise he'd still lose. He was out of that fire, but he had no way to win at the moment. "I shall end my turn."  
  
Taichi smirked and added another card to his hand, and to his surprise it was a card he hadn't expected to see, a card he was certain wasn't in his deck. He stared at it for several seconds, wondering when he had lost control and allowed the boy to put his favorite card into Taichi's deck. Snarling he picked up his two monsters and shoved them into his cemetery slot.   
  
"I care so little about your pathetic excuse for skill that I'm going to clear away your remaining obstacle and give you a simple monster to deal with. I sacrifice my two Giant Germs for my strongest basic monster, Invader of Darkness(2900/2500) in attack mode!"   
  
Taichi's new monster was a fearsome looking humanoid dressed in a black cloak that covered his somewhat machine looking body parts. The metal over his arms was serrated and at the shoulders jointed out into spikes. His face could barely be seen under the mask but he didn't seem human.   
  
"My newest and greatest monster has a very interesting special effect. While he remains face-up on the field, you can't activate any quick-play magic cards. That may not seem very dangerous, but it can work wonders."  
  
Shadi grimaced and drew his next card, aware that he would lose it if he didn't do something with it and quickly. He had to get something good. He held out the card and let out a breath of relief as he took in the card he had drawn and its effect. Now he might be able to win. "Taichi, it is time for me to take back control of this duel. To do so I will play a card that can only be activated while Necrovalley is in play. The permanent magic card, Gravekeeper Command!"  
  
Taichi's eyes displayed obvious shock as his new Invader of Darkness floated over to stand beside Shadi's Gravekeeper's Chief. Both monsters were obviously ready for battle. "Gravekeeper's Command allows me to take control of one of your monsters, and I can maintain control of it as long as I remove one gravekeeper from my cemetery during each of your standby phases, if I can't control of it returns to you. Since I have four gravekeeper monsters in my cemetery I can maintain control of him for a total of four turns, easily enough to finish you off!"  
  
Shadi cast one hand out and in a strong and determined voice announced his next move to his opponent. He was about to take back this duel and win it, no matter what Taichi tried he knew he could succeed. He had to, or else the world would suffer. "Gravekeeper's Chief, Invader of Darkness, attack Taichi directly!"  
  
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Yami looked up Osiris with a sense of dread and awe, also somewhat of confusion. Joey shouldn't be able to control Osiris, should he? More then that, it didn't make sense for Joey to sacrifice his three usable monsters for Osiris when he had no cards in his hand...unless he was counting on Yami to think that and attack. Joey's face down card had to be a trap that could ruin Yami, so attacking at the moment was out of the question.   
  
"Alright Joey, lets see whether you can handle that monster. I'll set a monster in defense mode and then I'll end my turn." Before Joey could even draw his next card Osiris' second mouth opened wide and launched a purple blast of explosive energy. It struck Yami's monster with devastating force, nearly knocking him off his feet. However to Joey's displeasure the monster was revealed to be Mystical Elf(800/0) so it managed to survive the blast.   
  
(Osiris: 1000/1000) Joey surveyed the field and realized that at the moment the only target he could have was Osiris because it was too weak to survive an attack from the mighty god dragon. So he stretched out his hand and gave the command for his god monster to attack. "Osiris, destroy Mystical Elf!"   
  
To his chagrin, however, the god monster did not respond. It simply continued circling the battle field, ready to strike whenever it felt like it. "Come on Osiris, attack!" Still there was no response from the god monster.   
  
Yami smirked and gestured to his other monster, the Magician's Valkyrie. "Its not you Joey, it's the effect of my other monster. As long as Magician's Valkyrie is on the field you can't designate any of my other spellcaster types with an attack. Because you attempted to attack Mystical Elf an the attack failed, I'd say that leaves you with no options."  
  
Joey groaned and passed the turn over to Yami, who gladly drew a card giving himself a single card in his hand. He grinned and set the card face down, watching as it appeared behind his two monsters. His valkyrie's effect could only save him that once, and in the next turn Joey would target it for destruction. He had to be ready.  
  
(Osiris: 2000/2000) As Joey increased his hand size and Osiris' stats he selected his next and only available target. He would have to go after Valkyrie before he could take out Mystical Elf. Now that Osiris had 2000 attack points he could take out the 1800 defense strength monster. "Attack Magician's Valkyrie!"  
  
The blast engulfed the magician, shielding her from the view of everyone watching, including Joey himself. At least until the light faded. Joey gasped as he saw Magician's Valkyrie holding up a big tube that was shimmering with a huge amount of energy. Yami grinned and gave Joey the thumbs down sign. "Looks like Osiris' fifteen minutes of fame are up. My Magic Cylinders trap card will sent its attack right back at it!"  
  
Joey smirked as the blast of energy hurtled towards his god monster. Now seemed to be the best time to activate his down card. This way he'd keep Osiris and give himself a boost at the same time. "Jar of Greed activate!"   
  
Joey slipped another card off the top of his deck and Osiris was able to react in time. Its tail swept down and slapped the blast of energy away from its body. It exploded in mid-air some distance away, blinding them in its great light. (Osiris: 3000/3000) Joey glanced down at this three cards, each one a decent card. No monster though, and at the moment he could use one.   
  
Yami grimaced as he added a card to his hand. The card was useful, but at the moment it wasn't much help. He'd have to sit tight and hope Joey didn't get a monster card anytime soon.   
  
(Osiris: 4000/4000) The blond duelist looked only briefly at the card he had drawn, a non-monster card once again. Oh well, he could still make use of this turn by cutting down Yami's defenses. "Okay, this time really destroy Valkyrie." The dragon launched a blast of energy that consumed the magician within seconds, leaving only cinders. However because she had been in defense mode Yami took no damage.   
  
The duelist with the multi-colored hair tried to keep a calm face as he added yet another card that he couldn't use at the moment. As long as Joey didn't get a monster his defenses would last for one more turn and he wouldn't be open to a direct attack till then. So at the most he could survive this one turn. "I pass."  
  
(Osiris: 5000/5000) Joey grimaced at his lack of any usable monster. He had a monster now, but there was no point in playing it. It would hurt him more then it would help. "Osiris, take out the Mystical Elf!" Once again the beast opened its jaws wide and unleashed its furious attack, blasting the elfin woman into oblivion and beyond.   
  
Yami took a deep breath as he added a third card to his hand. A plan started forming in his head as he looked over the three cards. He had a way to get out of this situation but he needed one more card to do it, and unless he drew that card he would most certainly lose.   
  
Slowly he turned his gaze to meet Joey's, giving his friend a confident smile. Now he was essentially out of options, and he couldn't put a monster into play. If things didn't work out well this might be the end for him. "Though I may seem down right now, its is my destiny to win. You should know this as well as I do. I will win no matter what, and I will work for that victory. You're forcing me to. So I leave you these words for the moment. End turn."  
  
(Osiris: 6000/6000) Joey and everyone else could only stare at the empty field that stood in front of Yami. An empty field that left Yami completely defenseless and waiting for Joey's attack. There was absolutely nothing that Yami could do to survive...he was about to lose...and Joey was about to win!   
  
Not even bothering to look at the card he had drawn, still in shock about the fact that he was about to win, he prepped for the attack. It was now or never, he had said he would give this duel his all. Joey's determination had payed off, and he was about to beat Yami. That would mean he had beaten the two best duelists in the world.   
  
"Osiris...attack Yami directly to win me the duel!"  
  
***********************************  
  
Two blasts of dark energy collided with Shadi's opponent, with them came a burst of flame that also surrounded Taichi's position. It took several seconds for the flames and smoke to fade, and when they did Taichi was almost completely unharmed, and his life points virtually intact. "How can this be? Your life points should be much lower after those two attacks!"   
  
(TLP: 9800) Taichi smirked and held up a single card. Depicted on it was a fuzzy brown animal with huge eyes creating an overall adorable image. He slipped it into his graveyard slot, glad to be rid of a reminder of his host. "By discarding Kuriboh from my hand I can negate damage done to my life points through battle by one of your monsters. So I negated the damage dealt by my own monster. Seems like you just can't get a break can you?"   
  
Smirking, Taichi placed another card in his hand, and watched as Shadi plucked his Gravekeeper's Shield Maiden from his cemetery and placed it within a fold of his robe to pay for the cost of Gravekeeper's Command. "You know, I don't think there's any move I can make, so I'll just have to end my turn. Go ahead and attack me if you like, its only a matter of time before I win and you die. And boy am I anticipating seeing the expression on your face as you take your final breath!"  
  
Shadi grimaced and drew, then made his move. He slapped his newest card onto the monster zone to the left of his Gravekeeper's Chief, and watched as the monster was summoned up to the left of his Gravekeeper's Chief. "I summon Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier(2000/1500) in attack mode to join his leader in my battle against you!"  
  
The new monster was a human with black robes and a headband on. In his hands he carried a long spear that was wrapped in an unearthly yellow glow. The rest of the spear soldier was also covered by this same yellow glow, making the dark look on his face all the more menacing. "Gravekeeper's Chief, Gravekeeper's Spear Soldier, Invader of Darkness, all out attack!"  
  
Gravekeeper's Chief sent a spiraling beam of red energy at Taichi, followed by a blast of yellow energy from the top of the spear soldier's spear. Following the other two attacks came a thick black beam of energy, that when it collided with the others created an explosion so big that it completely blocked out view of Taichi, and knocked Shadi flat on his back, burning at his clothing.   
  
Yowling in pain the gravekeeper himself scrambled to his feet without using his hands, for using them would only cause him more pain and make handling the cards more difficult. This was a dangerous game that Taichi was playing, but with the most recent attack it would seem that the insane creature was nearly defeated. For by the effect of Shadi's Robbin Goblin trap card, Taichi no longer had any cards in his hand.   
  
Taichi's laughter cut straight through the inferno that had engulfed him, and he rose as a flaming mess of burning flesh and cloth. His life points dwindled and Shadi's bridge extended to the half-way point, yet still he laughed. (TLP: 2000) "You absolute fool! Fire and agony cannot effect me! No matter what you attempt I will win this duel and crush you beneath my boot. I have seen it, and I know that in this next turn you will fall before my absolute might!"  
  
As suddenly as the flames had sprung up, they extinguished, leaving a charred wreck of a duelist standing across from Shadi, arrogant to the last. Smirking he swung one hand backwards to point at the city that was now merely a speck in the distance.   
  
"Back in Domino, at this very moment, I suspect that my crimes have been discovered. I've even anticipated that they would, anticipated that Kaiba will call the police to come to get me. But I've prepared everything ahead of time, and his call will be forwarded to my people, who will make Kaiba believe he has gotten through, but no help will come!"   
  
Shadi stared at the ruin of a man, now more of the image of the monster that he truly was. What crimes did the creature speak of? What might he have done that would warrant the police to investigate. "What crimes are these?"  
  
A dark smile fixed itself upon Taichi's face, a sick and twisted smile that sent a shiver down Shadi's spine. For the first time in his life, Shadi knew fear...and he did not like it.   
  
"My host's mother became bothersome. So I gutted her, ripped her throat out, and used her blood to write a message to those who would come after! The same message that I will leave on your tombstone when I bury you beneath the same tombs that you try so hard to protect! For what was, for what is, and for what shall be! The voice of my master calls me to act and I do! I AM THE HAND OF THE FORBIDDEN ONE!"  
  
******************************************  
  
"Osiris...attack Yami directly to win me the duel!" The mighty red dragon opened its primary mouth wide and launched a stream of deadly energies at the King of Games, prepared to consume him utterly.   
  
The former Pharaoh flung his arms out and let the golden glow of his Millennium Puzzle protect him from the wrath of the god card. Even outside of a Shadow Game a direct attack by a god card, particularly one at six thousand attack points could be devastating.   
  
The explosion rocked the dueling arena, forcing Joey to fight for his footing in those first few seconds. He couldn't even see Yami behind the cloud of smoke, but he already knew the outcome. He had just defeated the King of Games himself...and that meant he was now King of Games! He'd beaten Kaiba and Yugi...and that would make him the current top-ranked duelist in the world! "I just beat Yugi!"  
  
A superior chuckle that had meant the downfall of many a skilled duelist reached his ears. Unable to believe his ears, Joey had to watch as the smoke drifted to the side to reveal Yami, still standing and his life points unharmed. They had to be, otherwise Osiris would have vanished by now. (YLP: 2300) "Don't be so sure about that Joey. I'm tougher then that."  
  
Yami held up in front of him a single card from his hand of three cards. A very familiar card depicting a fuzz ball that was far more dangerous then it appeared...just like Yugi himself. "By discarding Kuriboh I was able to negate the damage from Osiris' attack. It was certainly a close call, but don't count me out just yet!"  
  
The King of Games smirked as it became his turn and he drew a card from the top of his deck with a ferocity that only he could muster. As the King of Games he couldn't afford anymore mistakes. It was defeat Osiris now, or never!   
  
"Joey, earlier we talked about the god cards, and how difficult it is to beat them. I mentioned how I was able to defeat Osiris the first time...but you were right in saying that I'd never beaten it before when my opponent had set up the perfect situation for me. Now I will!"   
  
Yami slipped the first of his three card combo into a slot and activated it. The card appeared before him as a stylized ankh, the Egyptian symbol of life. "I play Monster Reborn to revive your very own monster, Flame Swordsman(1800/1600)!"   
  
"Bad move Yami, cuz now Osiris' effect activates. Summon Lightning Impact!" Osiris' second mouth opened wide and it launched out its special effect attack, and the instant it hit Flame Swordsman would be destroyed because it wasn't strong enough to survive the blast.   
  
"Not quite Joey, because I'm not finished! I play the magic card, Polymerization to fuse Flame Swordsman with a monster in my hand!" As the rest of them watched in awe the Flame Swordsman was pulled into a swirling vortex, as was the card in Yami's hand. Because of that Osiris' second mouth attack exploded harmlessly against the ground.   
  
"Black Flare Knight(2200/800) rise up! Behold Joey, the fusion of our two favorite monsters and the power that it possesses is what will bring down Osiris!" Moments later a dark figure burst forth from the swirling vortex of the fusion. And the monster that touched down in front of Osiris was impressive looking at the very least.   
  
A long purple cape flared out behind it, caught by a gust of wind. Its body was covered in a black cloth and armor, with massive shoulder pads and a stylized helmet rimmed with red and with a horn sticking out of the top. In its left hand it held a large black shield, with various designs in red on it. In its right hand it held a blade similar to the Flame Swordsman's, except this one was slimmer and longer.   
  
Osiris' second mouth blast caught the newest monster full on, pouring over it but unable to destroy the mighty monster. Its once decent stats now plummeted to a mere two hundred attack points, making it no match for Osiris in pure strength...but its effect was where its strength lay. "Black Flare Knight, attack Osiris!"  
  
The knight extended his blade and a rush of fire exploded from the blade, heading straight for the mighty god monster. The god dragon let out a torrent of its own explosive energies that consumed the knight's flame attack and then continued on to crash against the knight himself. But Yami's life points stayed strong.   
  
"When Black Flare Knight is destroyed in battle I take no life point damage...and then I can special summon the strongest monster you will ever encounter, a monster who cannot be beaten in battle, not even by a god! I summon Mirage Knight(2800/2000)!"   
  
The monster that appeared in the Black Flare Knight's place was a strange looking one, but nonetheless an impressive sight. Dressed in golden armor the knight made a shining image, and looked particularly deadly wielding an enormous scythe in its right hand. The scythe was also gold. Flowing out from the back of its armored head was a long cape of blue hair that flapped in the breeze. This monster to was soon the victim of Osiris' effect.   
  
Even reduced to under a thousand attack points Yami seemed confident that his newest monster could defeat Osiris, and that had Joey worried. Either Yami was cracked, or there was some deadly secret hidden underneath all that golden armor. "Now Joey, its time to show you exactly what my destiny can lead me to. It was destiny that brought me these cards and made your Flame Swordsman available for the fusion. Now it will be this monster that will defeat Osiris. Mirage Knight ATTACK!"  
  
Joey grimaced and called out to his massive monster with his order. The order that he had to make because he had to win this duel. "Osiris, counter-attack and destroy Mirage Knight and the rest of Yami's life points!"   
  
The rage of Osiris struck Mirage Knight head on, but the golden knight cut straight through the blast with his scythe. With one sweep of his weapon he decapitated the mighty god, and then landed on the ground, perfectly unharmed.   
  
Joey gasped in shock as Osiris burst apart like a pricked soap bubble. At the same time Mirage Knight faded away, as if it had never existed. The field was now empty of cards and monsters and silent as the dead. "But...but how?"  
  
Yami smirked as he started to explain. He was proud of the monster he created, and proud that he had successfully defeat a god card...for real this time. "Its simple really. When Mirage Knight battles another monster during the damage calculations Mirage Knight's attack is increased by the attack strength of the monster it was in battle with. Unfortunately once my turn ends when Mirage Knight has been in battle, he is removed from the game."  
  
(JLP: 1400) Joey grinned in pure joy as they duel continued, despite the loss of the god card. Heck, it wasn't like losing the god card had killed him, and the effort it had taken Yugi left his hand and field completely empty. Now he had no way of countering Joey's attack. "Ready Yami? I'm about to knock you down a notch!"   
  
He grabbed a card off his deck and glanced down at it out of the corner of his eye. Looking over his cards he started to come up with a plan of action, now that he had a monster that is. "Okay, I'm gonna start off by summoning Rocket Warrior(1500/1300) in attack mode!"   
  
The small machine warrior squeaked as it appeared in front of Joey, prepared to take flight and attack with all of its might. "Next up, I'll set two cards face down. Then Rocket Warrior will attack you directly!"   
  
Two cards appeared behind the small warrior, who then transformed into a rocket and launched at Yami, crashing directly in front of him and knocking Yami backwards. Then the warrior returned to his place in front of Joey, and back to his regular form. (YLP: 800)  
  
"This next move you'll recognize because it became possible after Malik captured me. See he was determined to beat you, and he figured the best way to do that was with a horde of rare and powerful magic cards. I decided after that duel that I would keep them because I could use them to beat him, a pretty ironic situation in my mind. So...Hinotama, do your stuff!"  
  
A rain of fireballs shot down from the sky, colliding with Yami and making him shrink back in pain. They weren't real, but it sure felt like getting struck by a bunch of super-faster soccer balls. He had known that Joey would get in a direct attack, but he had never expected for him to do that much damage to him. (YLP: 300) "Its all on you Yami. Its either get a good card right now, or lose the duel."  
  
Yami grimaced and drew what might possibly be his very last card. His destiny assured him that he wouldn't lose, so this card had to be something good! He looked down at it and grinned in triumph. Now he had a way to cut down Joey's monster! "Alright Joey, to counter your monster I'm going to summon Zombyra the Dark(2100/500)! Go Zombyra, attack Rocket Warrior!"  
  
Joey smirked and activated one of his down cards, and when it flipped up a small group of men with swords charged forwards to engage in battle with the dark monster Zombyra, Rocket Warrior joined the fray, but Zombyra managed to cut him down anyway. "I may not have had a trap card that could destroy Zombrya, but my Reinforcements trap increased my warrior's attack by 500, so I'll only lose 100 life points. Meanwhile your monster loses two hundred attack points, making it fall closer into range with monsters I could bring out."  
  
(JLP: 1300) As it was Joey's turn again he drew and then set his first card down. He had a plan now, and the instant Yami attack he'd be in the green for laying the smack down on his friend. In Joey's next turn, he'd win the duel for sure. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and set one card face down behind it. You're up Yami."  
  
Yami drew and grinned at the card he had drawn. He couldn't use it yet, but in a few turns it would be useful. "I'll set one card face down. Now I attack your defense monster with Zombyra the Dark!"   
  
To Yami's surprise both of Joey's face down cards flipped up, one revealing four multi-colored goats. The four goats appeared surrounding the defense monster, and Zombyra's attack was drawn to one of the goat tokens. With a swipe of Zombyra's claws the token was no more, but Joey's defense monster remained untouched. "Sorry Yami, but my combo of Scapegoat and Shift keeps your attack from my monster."  
  
Yami started to worry as Joey drew another card and Zombyra's attack decreased further to 1700. Joey had protected his defense monster for some reason, which implied he either intended to sacrifice or that the monster had a flip effect that Joey wanted...and during his turn. "Ready for the best move you'll ever see? It's a move that'll knock you for a loop. I'll flip my defense monster face up, revealing Fiber Jar(500/500) and activating its effect!"  
  
Joey grinned and picked up the cards off his field, and took the cards out of his graveyard and started shuffling them all together with his deck. "When Fiber Jar is flipped both players take all the cards in their hand, on the field, and in the cemetery and shuffle them together into their deck. Then they both draw five cards. Looks like the duel's starting over."  
  
As Yami shuffled his cards into his deck he realized the danger involved. Joey's play had been brilliant! By shifting the attack to a goat token he had kept Fiber Jar face down during his turn. Since it was flipped in Joey's own turn, Yami's field was completely empty, and Joey was free to play whatever monsters and cards he wanted.   
  
"Okay, Yami, now that we're both ready, I'll summon Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600)! Now he attacks directly with Flaming Sword of Battle!" The counterpart to Joey's favorite monster lifted its blade into the air and swung it down, cutting an arc of fire across the field heading straight for Yami. With nothing to protect him he was finished for sure!  
  
The strike drove Yami back into the railing, nearly knocking him over it, but he managed to keep from tumbling backwards. And despite Joey's brilliant strategy, he was still standing, and totally unharmed. "Looks like destiny is more powerful then your strategy and determination in this case. Because one of the five cards I drew was my Kuriboh!"   
  
Joey grimaced at seeing his perfect move go to waste and was forced to pass the move to Yami. Now Yami had a chance to recover from his bad situation, and maybe even make a comeback. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Kuriboh. Then I'll sacrifice it for the Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700)."  
  
Joey could only groan at the sight of the more powerful monster. Sure he would get his Flame Swordsman summoned when his current monster was destroyed, but those were life points he might be needing. Anytime anyone let Yami get any kind of headway they always ended up losing. "I'll set one card face down, and attack Blue Flame Swordsman. Black Magic Burning Attack!"   
  
A barrage of pink energy collided with his swordsman and blasted him apart. However, in a burst of flame the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) replaced the other monster. Yami smirked and ended his turn, feeling confident that he could make a come-back. (JLP: 1100)   
  
The blonde duelist picked up a new card and then slapped it down on the field, picking up his Flame Swordsman and sending it to the cemetery in the process. "I sacrifice Flame Swordsman for Fiend Megacyber(2200/1200)! I'll set one card face down and attack your Dark Magician Girl!"   
  
The yellow armored monster extended its gauntlet encased fist and punched forwards with such force that the air itself was sent spiraling forwards to strike the Dark Magician Girl, destroying her in seconds. (YLP: 100) "End turn."  
  
Feeling the strain that came with only have a spare one hundred life points to play with the world's foremost duelist drew his next card, hopping to get something useful. "Pot of Greed!" He drew two new cards and then surveyed them, realizing that he had a perfect combo ready to use.   
  
"I activate my face down card, Black Magic Ritual! By sacrificing Valkyrion the Magna Warrior from my hand I can special summon Magician of Black Chaos(2800/2600), one of my strongest monsters! I'll set two cards face down, and then I'll attack your Megacyber with my magician!"   
  
The deadly magician spun his staff around his head several times before swinging it down against the ground, sending a sphere of deadly magical energies at the waiting warrior. Megacyber caught the sphere in his bare hands, but even his great strength couldn't stop the attack, and in moments he was destroyed. (JLP: 500)   
  
Joey added another card to his hand and was happy to see a good card joining his ranks. With the cards in his hand he could create a powerful combo that would take Yami off guard, and possibly win him the duel. It was a risk he had to take. "I activate my face down card, Aura Armor!"   
  
(JLP: 250) Yami jerked back in shock as his friend started to glow brightly. Suddenly his body was covered by red and white armor with wings, giving him a fearsome appearance. "My trap card Aura Armor lets me equip an armor to myself that's equal to my life points. But to activate it I have to pay half of my life points. Its got more uses though, and I'm about to demonstrate them. Check this out; Red Eyes Transmigration!"   
  
Yami shielded his eyes as his deck started to glow even brighter then Joey had been a moment ago. Slowly he reached out and took hold of the glowing card and pulled it out. At Joey's beckoning he tossed it over. The light faded as a familiar black dragon exploded onto the field next to Joey.   
  
A bright flame engulfed Joey's body, surrounding all of him except for his face. As Yami watched the Red Eyes was pulled into the flame and it grew exponentially for several seconds before it vanished. Standing before him was Joey in an armor that appeared to be created from the body of the Red Eyes. A black spiky armor with a tail and wings, that made him look even more fearsome then he had previously.   
  
"Meet my Red Eyes Armor(2650/2250)! Now that I've gotten the Red Eyes Armor equipped to me its attack becomes my life points plus the Red Eyes. I get a few effects that I can't activate at the moment, but they may come in handy if this next move doesn't work. I equip myself with Lightning Blade, raising my attack by eight hundred points!"   
  
(REA: 3450/2250) Joey picked up his new weapon, a thick blade that crackled with hidden power that increased his own. Now Joey, almost a monster himself, outmatched Yami's Magician of Black Chaos, making it possible for Joey to finish Yami off with one attack. Yami prepared himself as his friend zoomed across the field at incredible speed, holding his blade up at the ready as he did so.   
  
"Activate Power Balance to shift my magician to defense mode!" Yami grimaced as Joey sliced right through his magician, shattering it with one clean sweep of his blade. Had Yami not had Power Balance ready and waiting he would have been taken out with that one hit. "Now I activate Careless Avarice to draw two cards at the expense of two of my draw phases."   
  
Joey cursed inwardly at his lost chance. He had been so close to taking Yami down in that attack! Holding his curses in he placed one last card down, leaving him with only one card in his hand. "I'll set a card face down, and end my turn."  
  
Yami drew a deep breath as he started his turn without drawing. He had two good cards in his hand, but they weren't going to cut it. He'd have to get more cards if he were to have any chance of defeating Joey. He knew that he had always encouraged Joey, but it seemed that his friend had groan as a duelist far faster then he had ever thought possible, faster even then he could. "I play Graceful Charity...now I'll discard two of the cards I drew, one of which is Repayment for Losses, letting me draw one card."  
  
Letting out his breath the King of Games continued his turn with a card he had gotten from one of his Battle City duels. Soon he would have his most trusted monster on the field. "I play Dark Magic Curtain. At a cost of half of my life points (YLP: 50) I can special summon the Dark Magician from my deck to the field!"   
  
A curtain with a skull figure on top appeared on the field and drew apart its curtains, letting the purpled robed magician to step forth. Yami could always count on the Dark Magician(2500/2100) to get him out of a jam, and it was no different today. "Now its time to separate you from your mighty armor. To do so I play the magic card, Defusion!"  
  
Joey gasped as the three parts were split from each other. Moments later he stood apart from a shell of the Aura Armor whose attack was now set at eight hundred merely because it retained the Lightning Blade. His Red Eyes Black Dragon(2400/2000) stood to his left, roaring in defiance of his opponent's monster. Yami smirked and raised one hand to point at the Aura Armor. "Dark Magician, use your Dark Magic attack to destroy his Aura Armor and end this duel!"  
  
Now it was Joey's turn to smirk as he revealed his remaining card, a card that had saved him in some of his Battle City duels. With his luck things might work out anyway. "Not so fast Yami. My Aura Armor may be weak, but with the toss of a single die this duel could go either way. If my Graceful Dice lands on a four or higher the Dark Magician will be destroyed and I'll win the duel. If it's a two or less then the Aura Armor and my life points will be destroyed. Lets see what happens!"  
  
A purple stream of energy exploded from the tip of the Dark Magician's staff, streaking towards the inert Aura Armor. However, at the last moment, even as the die was still rolling, the armor raised its blade and sent a stream of lightning at the Dark Magician's attack. The two different forms of energy collided and exploded with tremendous force, sending a cloud of smoke over the field.   
  
Slowly the smoke lifted, and the Dark Magician stood strong with its arms crossed over its chest. The Aura Armor was nowhere to be seen and Yami knew what that meant. The duel was his. "Sorry Joey, but it looks like I've won this duel. Like I said before, you can't stop destiny, and it was my destiny to win."  
  
His friend grinned and pointed to the Dark Magician and the Red Eyes, then at his own duel disk. Yami's eyes widen with sudden realization...if the duel were over then the disks would shut down and the monsters would vanish...but they hadn't! "It ain't over yet Yami. I said what would happen if it came out four or higher or two or lower, but I never said what would happen if it came out a three. The armor's attack was tripled to 2400, meaning it was destroyed by the Dark Magician's attack, but there wasn't enough damage to knock me out of the duel."  
  
(JLP: 150) Joey took in a deep breath and drew his next card, knowing that if he could deal with Yami's Dark Magician he could have another chance to win the duel, because Yami wouldn't be able to draw another card until the turn after his next one...if he had a next turn.   
  
"I'll start my turn off by play Genocide War! Next I'll play Warrior Returning Alive to resurrect Blue Flame Swordsman(1800/1600) from my cemetery!" The Flame Swordsman's blue counterpart appeared next to the Red Eyes, staring down the superior power of Yami's Dark Magician. Yami however was unsure of what was going to happen, because he didn't know the effect of Genocide War.  
  
"Red Eyes, attack the Dark Magician!" Yami's eyes widened in shock as the dragon launched a fireball at his magician, who automatically retaliated by unleashing his Dark Magic Attack, shattering the Red Eyes in one quick blast. (JLP: 50) Yami's surprise increased further when his Dark Magician grabbed at his chest and then collapsed, shattering into a million pieces.   
  
"I guess I should explain huh Yami? See when two monsters do battle during the turn that Genocide War is activated all of them are destroyed after damage calculation. So while I took one hundred damage and my Red Eyes was destroyed, the Dark Magician was also destroyed. Now, Blue Flame Swordsman, attack Yami directly!"   
  
The swordsman charged his blade up with blue fire and then swung it straight down. A ring of fire erupted from the end and surrounded Yami. The ring closed in and exploded, sending a fireball high into the sky. When Yami was visible again he was on his knees, and his life point counter was trickling down. It looked like the duel was finally over.   
  
Joey blinked as he heard the noise of the counter stop, but the duel disks hadn't deactivated. That didn't make any sense. If he had hit Yami and his counter was counting down that meant Yami had been reduced to zero life points, so how come the duel wasn't over? "What's going on?"  
  
Yami grinned and showed Joey the card he had face down, and Joey blinked in surprise. Depicted on the trap card was a white mass with eyes looking out, but even in blown up holographic form he couldn't quite read what it said. "My trap card Reduction Barrier saved me. When my life points would be reduced to zero it simply sets my life points to ten instead, and doesn't let my opponent attack again this turn."   
  
(YLP: 10) Yami smirked and, as he was unable to do anything, passed his turn to Joey. The blond duelist eagerly took it, not noticing Yami's smirk. All he noticed was that he had a clear and open field at his opponent. No monsters, no traps, and no cards in his hand. He hadn't had this good a set up since Osiris was destroyed. He peeked at the card he had drawn and kept it in his hand. It was a useful card, but at the moment he didn't need it. He was about to win.  
  
"Attack and wipe out Yami's life points!" For the second time in as many turns the swordsman charged up his blade and unleashed the ring of blue fire. It too exploded upon contact, engulfing Yami in a temporary screen of fire. This time, there was no way out.   
  
The fire vanished, and yet Yami's life points remained untouched for some reason. This time there was no way he could possibly have managed to take the attack without losing! It just wasn't possible!   
  
Yami smirked and ejected a card from his cemetery, holding it out for Joey to see. It was a turtle with letters across its chest. "Remember when I played Graceful Charity? Well this is one of the cards I discarded. The Electric Turtle(0/1800) has an effect that can only be activated from the cemetery. At one point while its in the graveyard I can negate an attack made by my opponent. I did just that to protect myself. So, are you done?"  
  
Joey grimaced as once again victory was snatched from his fingers by a hair's-breadth. Sheesh! Now he knew why Kaiba got so pissed whenever he dueled Yami. Even in their previous duel Yami hadn't been this good at slipping away from defeat. It was like the guy was a greased pig, you couldn't pin him down no matter how hard you tried! "I'll just set one card face down. That's it."  
  
Yami drew for the first time in a few turns, and grinned at the sight of the card that destiny had rewarded him with. This could turn the game back in his favor, or it could make things worse. But he had no other choice but to play it. "Activate magic card, Card of Sanctity!"   
  
The two duelists drew cards until they had six cards in their hand as per the effect of Card of Sanctity. It was a potentially dangerous move, but useful at the same time. Yami grinned and played the first card he could from his hand. "This next monster has the effect that if he's drawn out of my draw phase I can special summon him in face-up defense mode. So meet Watapon(300/200) in defense mode."   
  
Yami's new monster was well...a white ball of puff with eyes and antenna. That was it. It was like an alien version of Kuriboh. Yami picked Watapon up off the field and slipped him into the graveyard so he could bring out his next monster. "I sacrifce Watapon for Gilfar Demon(2200/2500)! Gilfar Demon, use your Firestorm to finish Joey off!"  
  
Joey grinned as a chain whipped out from his face down card and wrapped around the winged demon, constricting him and forcing him into defense mode. "I'm sure you recognize Kunai with Chain, it switches your monster into defense mode and then becomes an equip card on my Blue Flame Swordsman, powering him up to 2300 attack!"  
  
Yami simply slipped a card into one of his magic/trap slots and motioned for Joey to start his turn. As confident as Joey appeared to be, he was bound to attack the moment he got a monster with twenty five hundred or greater attack. Yami would be ready for him.   
  
Joey drew and instantly played two cards, one in his monster zone and the other in a magic slot. He could take out Yami's defense and go in for the attack right now. "I summon Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600) and I equip Blue Flame Swordsman with Dark Aura Blade, raising his attack by two hundred times the number of cards in my hand, boosting him to 3300 attack!"  
  
At the same time as the armored knight Gearfreed appeared, the other swordsman set aside his normal weapon and picked up a pitch black blade that appeared out of thin air. The blade seemed to suck in the light around it, making it blacker then it was before. "Blue Flame Swordsman, Dark Aura Strike!"   
  
"Activate Mirror Force!" The black ovoid blast of energy that the swordsman's attack had unleashed struck the barrier and split into two beams, each one connecting with one of Joey's monsters and blowing them sky high in a shower of black energy. However, they were replaced in a blast of fire by the Flame Swordsman(1800/1600).   
  
"Fine, I'll set two cards face down to end my turn." The two cards appeared behind Joey's favorite monster and the turn passed to Yami. He was fairly certain that Joey would be able to survive his next attack, so he might as well prepare himself for whatever Joey would throw at him next turn.   
  
"I'll set two cards face down, and summon King's Knight(1600/1400). I switch Gilfar into attack mode and have him attack the Flame Swordsman!" The demon sent out a stream of fire at the fire wielding warrior, but at the last moment a group of robed men appeared, blocking off the attack. Yami smirked at the sight of Waboku...exactly as he had expected. He didn't expect anything less of Joey.   
  
"Now that you've triggered my trap card Waboku, I'll activate Sudden Windfall! During each of my standby phases it'll roll a die, and whatever the number is will be how many life points I gain. It gets better though. If I roll a six, instead of getting six hundred life points, I'll get one thousand!"   
  
Yami kept his smirk on and motioned for Joey to start his turn. The blond did so, and they both watched as the die tumbled down across the field, coming up with Joey's first bad luck for the entire duel. A three. (JLP: 350) He shrugged and continued with his turn. "I'll summon Marauding Captain(1200/1400) and then according to his effect I'll special summon Battle Warrior(700/1000) to the field! I'll set up one card, and then I'll attack King's Knight with Flame Swordsman!"  
  
"Open face down card, Spellbinding Circle! Now Flame Swordsman will be trapped and have its attack reduced!" The mystical pentagram shape flies out and surrounds the attack swordsman's waist, stopping him cold in his tracks. The counter for its attack trickles down to 1100, weaker then any of Yami's monsters.   
  
"Draw!" Yami placed the card in his hand, and then set it on the field, knowing that if Joey survived this turn it would come in handy later. Now he had more in mind...if he succeeded then he'd manage to win this duel right here and now. "Gilfar Demon, attack Marauding Captain!"   
  
Yami's eyes shot open as wide as they could go as an impish demon with a shovel on its back appeared in front of Gilfar Demon. It flipped around the card it was carrying, revealing Yami's own Mirror Force. "Looks like your monsters are gone!"   
  
"Reveal Protective Force! This will keep my monsters for being destroyed this turn...but unfortunately Mirror Force still negates my attack. So I'll simply end my turn."  
  
The instant Joey drew his card, the die was off like a shot. It bounced up, down, left, right, rolling wildly from number to number keeping both duelists in suspense for several seconds. Finally it came to a stop right in front of Yami's feet. Staring up at him was sign that Joey's luck was back in force. Six dots shown in the sun. (JLP: 1350)  
  
"Time to see what other kind of luck I've got. Perhaps the kind of luck that you get from pure determination eh Yami? Destiny can't stop me so don't expect it to do you much good when I play Treasure of Destiny!" A magic card appeared on Joey's side, and a white die launched from the image, bouncing across the field just as Sudden Windfall's die had done moments before. However this one only came up as a two.   
  
"Whatever number shows up is the number of cards I get to draw. So now I get two more." He breathed deeply and then picked up the two top cards from his deck. Silently he prayed for one of them to be Jinzo, because if he managed to draw Jinzo then he'd be able to beat Yami no matter what card he had face down.   
  
He exhaled and looked at the first of the two cards, finding only Scapegoat. Not what he wanted...he'd have to hope that the next one was Jinzo or something else useful. Slowly he shifted Scapegoat to the side, revealing his other card. He grinned widely as he looked down upon his newest card. Things were definitely looking up!  
  
"I was hoping for something good Yami, and I got it. Here it comes...I sacrifice all three of my monsters for Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) in order to activate his special effect!" Joey's three monsters shattered and in their place came a tall, muscular warrior wearing minimal armor. His style of dress was similar to that of the flame swordsman, though there seemed to be spikes extended from his helmet.   
  
The warrior unsheathed his sword from his back and swung it in an arc. As he did so a black cloud materialized over Yami's monsters and from it came a bolt of lightning that shattered Yami's monsters in that single strike. Now the way was clear for Gilford to attack. "Gilford attack Yami with Lightning Blade Slash!"   
  
The warrior's blade swung through the air towards Yami, whistling as it did so, lightning crackling about it. In one sweep that blade could finish him off, and he refused to let that happen. "Reveal Waboku!" The robed men appeared in front of Yami this time and fended off Gilford's attack...for the moment. Joey grimaced and set a card face down before ending his turn.  
  
Yami closed his eyes for a brief moment, and then drew. He held the card up in front of his eyes and grinned. Now was definetely the time to do something stupid and risky. It always worked for Joey, so why not for him? "Joey...I think I've realized something in this duel. You were right when you said that destiny doesn't come easily, that you have to work to achieve it. I've got my destiny, but unless I try hard and take risks nothing's going to come of it. So now I'll follow your example and gamble with this duel."  
  
He held up the two cards in his hand to display them to Joey. It would take both of them for his plan to work. "The card I've been unable to use for a while now is Premature Burial. I couldn't use it because I can't pay for the cost. But now I can, at least by using the magic card Double Spell! By discarding Premature Burial I can use a magic card from your cemetery...and I'll gamble by using Treasure of Destiny!"  
  
The two duelists locked eyes as Yami's Double Spell became a duplicate of Treasure of Destiny. The die dropped out of the card and the two continued to stare each other down as the die bounced all over the place. It made its way in its bounces slowly over to Joey. The blond casually put his foot out and stopped the die in its tracks...coming up a three.   
  
Adding three cards into his hand Yami formulated a plan. It seemed to him that things could work out for him if he played his cards right. Pun completely intended. "I play Brain Control, to take command of your Gilford the Lightning!"   
  
A brain appeared and extended bluish arms, picking up Gilford and depositing him in Yami's control. Then the brain vanished, readying Yami for his move to continue. "Gilford attacks!" The warrior charged forwards, only to be met by a group of fuzzy goats, one of which was sliced into pieces.   
  
"Sorry Yami, but Scapegoat blocks your attack. Looks like you've got nothing to go on, cuz next turn Gilford is mine again." Yami's only immediate response was a smirk, and to pick out one of his two remaining cards.   
  
"Not exactly Joey. My reason for attack with Gilford was to find out what sort of trap you might have placed, and it did just that for me. I figured I'd be better off letting your monsters run into a trap then one of mine. In either case, he's not my true plan. This is...I play Silent Dead to revive a monster face-up in defense mode!"  
  
In a flash of light Yami's monster was resurrected, and it was revealed as...Watapon(300/200). Joey and everyone else stared blankly at Yami for the strange move. He had a lot of good monsters in the cemetery...so why revive a weak monster like Watapon whose only effect came when you drew him outside the standby phase?  
  
Yami grinned as he picked out the last card he had in his hand. Next he picked up Watapon and tossed it into the cemetery where it was before his magic card, and brought out his next monster. "I summon Catapult Turtle(1000/2000)! Now, as per its effect I'll tribute Gilford the Lightning to deal half of its attack points directly to your life points! Catapult Turtle, launch Gilford!"  
  
The warrior leaps up on top of the turtle's launching platform, and it then corrects its aim so that its pointing right at Joey. With a screech of turning gears the platform flings forwards, launching Gilford ahead as a speeding rocket. The warrior turned missile shrieks towards Joey, exploding mere inches in front of him sending him crashing to the ground. (JLP:0)  
  
Yami let out a deep, relaxing breath as he shifted to give control to Yugi. He had just had one of the toughest duels of his entire life, perhaps THE toughest, and now he figured he deserved a bit of rest before the next duel. At least both of the duelists were satisfied and it seemed like this would be a positive note in an overall negative sequence of events in the tournament. It certainly made up for the duel they were previously forced into.  
  
**********************************************  
  
Taichi laughed wildly as he slammed his next card home, activating its magic to bring this duel to the ending that he knew it would reach. Now was the time that he had seen, now was the moment he had been waiting for. Now he would get to see Shadi's last breath!  
  
"Activate Pot of Greed! Now, with these two cards I shall seal your fate! The first is the magic card, Genocide Bomb! At a cost of a mere thousand life points I can destroy all cards on the field, clearing the way!"   
  
(TLP: 1000) The already smoldering Taichi wasn't even affected by the flames that lept up to scorch him. Next a huge explosive with reactor warning labels all over it appeared in the center of the field. It started to glow, and with a bright flash it went off, nearly knocking both duelists off their fire platforms.   
  
As the light cleared it became evident that now the field was completely empty. All Taichi had to do was summon a monster, and Shadi would be finished. He had tried his hardest...but he had failed. "I told you before, gravekeeper, that you would witness the power I possess. You will witness the might of my greatest of monsters, and you will be consumed by it. This move was cut off before this because of your Necrovalley, but with it out of the way I'm free to play my magic card...Monster Reborn!"  
  
Shadi dropped to his knees, all will to fight on gone from his body. He hardly even felt the fire that scorched his knees. Impending death could do that sort of thing to you. He had known there was a chance that he would die...but he had never truly understood exactly what that meant until now, when he was facing death in the eyes.   
  
Standing above Shadi was the massive form of Exodia the Forbidden One, in all its deadly glory. The monster that had no equal, as its mere attack or defense meant victory for its controller. Its power was absolutely unstoppable, and Shadi was about to feel the pain that would come with the final attack. "Exodia...OBLITERATE!"   
  
He didn't even feel the pain as the energy consumed him.  
  
****************************************  
  
Joey stopped walking towards the elevator as he heard a strange sound coming from above him. It was like...whistling sort of. He craned his neck so he could see what was making the sound. When he did he was forced to leap out of the way as the source of the noise came straight at him.  
  
CRACK! Everyone whipped around at the sound to find out what had made it. All they could do was stare at the twisted and burnt form that lay before them. Only the white turban that covered the body's burnt head let them know that the body belonged to Shadi, guardian of the Millennium Items.   
  
Joey rushed to his sister and covered her eyes with his hands. He couldn't let her see this, it was wrong, she just couldn't! She was his baby sister and this sort of thing...she just shouldn't see it.   
  
The entire gang looked up at the sound of insane laughter. Descending down a path of flames was Taichi with a crazed look upon his face. He looked...giddy. Like he had just seen something he had been waiting a long time for. Drake shook with rage at the mere sight of him.  
  
Taichi spoke at last, cutting into the thoughts of all those gathered. They had been trying to understand, to comprehend exactly what had happened before he spoke. "Oh boy! You guys should have seen it! As determined as that guy was it was great to see the expression on his face when he knew that was about to die. There's just something special about breaking a person so completely that just....touches me I guess."   
  
He departed the path of flames, which dissipated behind him. Still grinning widely he brushed past all those gathered, none of whom were capable of taking action at the moment. Even Drake couldn't, knowing that if he did something now then Kirani's soul was forfeit.   
  
Taichi stopped beside Shadi's body and knelt down next to him. He closed his eyes and placed his head against what might have been Shadi's chest at one point, but was now a burnt up mess. He grinned and jerked his head up, whistling a happy tune. "Perfect! I didn't miss it!"  
  
The dark haired duelist leaned forwards so that he is face was directly parallel to what remained of Shadi's. Everyone watched in horrified fascination as Shadi's chest moved for one brief moment, and a small rattling breath escaped the gravekeeper's lips.   
  
Taichi breathed deep and then stood up, laughing joyously, completely forgetting Shadi's fallen form or anyone else in the room as he marched away. "Finally I got to see it! I even got to taste it!"  
  
____________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: Ummm....its freaking huge! Also, I didn't even use the exact effect of every card there, so if you see something like that, its deliberate. This sort of thing will also appear in other chapters. Also, if you see any card that has a name you don't recognize but it isn't listed below, its probably because I used the japanese name without knowing the english one, or that it comes from the Doom Saga. Finally I'd like to send a thanks to Time Mage for helping me figure out the bit with Defusion on Aura Armor. Thanks dude!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Taichi: Genocide Bomb  
  
Yami/Yugi: Protective Force, Grave Chain, Repayment of Losses, Power Balance  
  
Joey: Dark Aura Blade, Sudden Windfall, Absolute Negation  
  
Shadi: Gravekeeper's Control  
  
Next Time: Kensai and Ryu confront Taichi when they realize that he was the one who got them their locator cards. As Dalin and Mai prepare to duel Mai makes a shocking announcement that has everyone at the edge of their seat, including Dalin. In order to work things out Dalin makes a startling proposal... 


	16. A Change of Decks

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!  
  
Author's Note: I think I'll be including a 'Quote of the Chapter' in each chapter from now on. I'll be taking various quotes from different sources to put here. I hope you like em'. This first one is intended as a jibe towards the whole idea of problems being settled through a card game as they are in Yu-gi-oh. Not that I mind for without that what story would I have. It is also a salute to an author who while I don't perfectly enjoy his work, I find him to be a brilliant man and quite funny.  
  
Chapter Fifteen: A Change of Decks  
  
"I thoroughly disapprove of duels. If a man should challenge me, I would take him kindly and forgivingly by the hand and lead him to a quiet place and kill him." -Mark Twain  
  
Yugi and Yami were deep in conversation. They weren't in the middle of watching a duel because Kaiba had to bring a clean up crew before the next duel could continue. The CEO had informed them that there was no possible way to stop the tournament, so they had to continue for everyone's good.   
  
"Something doesn't seem right Yami, and I'm not talking about the lunatic out there killing people. Its about what Shadi mentioned when he first visited us...that all the Millennium Items were onboard...but he said they were on board "in a manner of speaking". What did he mean?"  
  
The former Pharaoh 'sat' across from his partner, rubbing his chin in contemplation. He had been considering that very thing for a while now, but particularly since seeing Shadi dead. He could account for the Puzzle of course, and Shadi had possessed the Scales and Ankh. Presumably Taichi had taken those. Bakura had the Ring, but since nobody had seen him in a while Taichi probably had that as well. Isis had the Tauk, but she should still be back in Domino. Pegasus had the eye, so that was accounted for. Malik had the....  
  
"The Rod! After Dalin defeat Malik we completely forgot about the Millennium Rod! Taichi must have that as well now! If that's the case...then he has four of the seven items. His power grows with each opponent he defeats. Soon he'll be too strong to stop!"  
  
Their fears starting to come together, the two duelists continued contemplating Shadi's words, unaware of how devastatingly true they were, and how it would soon effect them all. Nor were they aware that every hour that passed by was another hour closer to end of all things.   
  
************************************  
  
Roughly twelve hours, that was how long was left. In just about twelve hours something would happen that would end the world. Dalin had been counting, and with every minute that was used up cleaning away Shadi's body was another minute closer to losing everything. It was his duel next and they had to get it out of the way!  
  
He paced his room, waiting for the moment when Kaiba would announce the beginning of the duel. He had to do something before he went crazy! Letting out a cry of frustration he dropped into a chair and snatched his deck off the table. He flicked through it until he came across Ra. He had considered adapting his deck to fit Ra, but had quickly realized that his deck was just as suited to Ra as Malik's had been, but in a different way.  
  
He knew that Malik's deck was a cemetery recursion deck, designed primarily to get his heavy hitters in the grave and keep bringing them out. In Malik's case the monster he had designed his deck to recycle in and out of his cemetery was Ra, specifically by recycling his Monster Reborn.   
  
Dalin's deck on the other hand was perfect for Ra's life point draining ability. With the number of life points he could quickly gain he could make Ra an unstoppable force quite easily. As for sacrifices, once he had his key card in play then it would be simple to get and keep the monsters he needed.   
  
He searched through the deck again, and came across the two cards he had been looking for. The same two cards that had been given to him by Rishid before Dalin had faced Malik. Both cards were useful...and in certain cases could prove to be extremely powerful. There was just one card that was missing to complete the combo...and if he was correct then he had purchased that card on instinct while in Egypt.   
  
Perhaps fate was on his side. "Will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report to the dueling ring immediately? I repeat, will Mai Valentine and Dalin Sumatin report toe the dueling ring immediately?"  
  
********************************  
  
Two teenagers, one seventeen and one eighteen, were in the middle of an argument. Should the argument lead to fists it would be a display of great skill on both sides, and probably end with broken bones. Fortunately they weren't angry enough for it to lead to that.   
  
"I tell you it was Malik who left those cards for us!" This man, the seventeen year old, was Ryu Shigeru. His experience with gangs and his experiences with the Rare Hunters during Battle City had him certain that it was Malik who had left the twelve locator cards with their names on them. The cards that allowed the two to compete in the tournament, even though both were defeated in the first round.   
  
"It was that psycho freak Taichi, not your psycho freak. I don't know why he did it but I'm certain he's the one who left those locator cards for us!" This other man, the eighteen year old, was Takuya Shinomori, also known as Kensai. An experienced member of the Geokigo Dojo and one of the highest ranking martial artists in the world in his age division.   
  
Kensai felt that he was right because he possessed what he called "warrior's instinct". He also said that Malik had no reason to be interested in himself, since the psycho hadn't ever heard of him. Taichi might have, so he was the more likely candidate.   
  
The girl listening from the room opposite theirs, Hinata Donovan, saw things from a different angle then the other two. At sixteen she had lived through a number of things, including the death of her brother in a gang war. She was also better educated then the two older men, making her believe that she had it right.   
  
In her educated opinion, the one who had supplied those locator cards for them was none other then the tournament coordinator himself. Seto Kaiba. She felt that the person who could have gotten those twelve locator cards the easiest was the same person who had created them. She could also see reasons for Kaiba to supply them both with the cards into the tournament.  
  
Kaiba had vast resources, and he could most likely track all the cards that were played in the tournament. If that was the case then he knew that another Blue Eyes had been played, and that it had changed hands to Ryu...at least he probably knew. That would be his reasoning behind his giving locator cards to Ryu. Being the card obsessed rich snob that he was, Kaiba would want the Blue Eyes himself, to get rid of any competition.   
  
As for Kensai, that was most likely a similar reason. What she had seen of the duel between Kensai and Drake had shown her that Kensai had a monster with a strength equal to the Blue Eyes. Antyhing that powerful Kaiba would definitely want to add to his collection, so he gave Kensai the cards so that eventually Kaiba might take the card from him in the tournament.   
  
"I don't get why they argue. Its not like they can ask Malik and find out. They can't ask Taichi either because he's so freaking pyscho he'd probably attack em for no reason. Kaiba they can ask, and I bet if they do they'd found out I'm right. But no! They can't even think far enough ahead to consider asking someone!"  
  
The sudden silence alerted her that something was up. Those two had been arguing back and forth with no progress for so long now that it didn't seem like they'd just stop yelling and quiet down without good reason. "Uh-oh..."  
  
"Thanks Hinata! Your suggestion was really helpful! Stay busy while we go ask Taichi whether he gave us those locator cards!"   
  
Hinata stared blankly ahead for a second before she managed to take it all in. They were going to ask the murderous psycho if he had given them their locator cards?! They really were idiots! "If I don't go stop them those idiots are going to get themselves killed!"  
  
**********************************  
  
Dalin stopped at his spot in the dueling arena, and readied his duel disk. Casually he took his deck out and started to shuffle it, he's hands moving at incredible speeds. Anyone looking closely couldn't have kept track of his hands and the cards that he shuffled.   
  
At the moment he was the only of the two duelists here. Mai had yet to show up, and she only had a few minutes left before he was declared the victor by default. It seemed Kaiba was going to enforce such things because of the time that had been taken up in clean-up.   
  
Dalin turned as the elevator door opened and the blond duelist stepped out, duel disk at the ready. He saw her eyes go completely wide as she saw how fast he was shuffling his cards. At that moment a light went off in her head, and she rushed over to Kaiba, who was standing passively to one side waiting for the duel to get started.  
  
"Kaiba, you have to cancel this duel and kick this guy out!" Those present gasped in surprise and Dalin turned a furious gaze upon the smaller woman. How dare she! What did she think she was doing, trying to get him out of the tournament like that!  
  
"On what grounds?" As she started speaking, Dalin hopped down from the ring, and approached the two. He was fully aware that as muscular and tall as he was, and with no sleeves he'd look even more imposing then he usually did. With spike back golden-blond hair he certainly appeared dangerous, and he added to that effect by glaring at the blond woman.  
  
"Just now, when I saw him shuffling his deck, I remembered something that's been bothering me for awhile. The name Dalin Sumatin. I finally remembered hearing about a grifted who tore up Vegas a few years back. A Thai-American who was a dealer at over a dozen casinos before people started to catch on that he never lost because he was so fast at shuffling that nobody could see him arrange the deck to his liking. After that he took on duel monsters and took all sorts of duelists apart, always winning because his deck was always arranged like he wanted it."  
  
All eyes were now turned upon Dalin Sumatin, now suspected grifter. If that was truly the case, then it would explain why he was able to crush Malik so easily. It would also mean that he'd be kicked out of the tournament for sure...if it was true.   
  
Dalin rolled his eyes, staring the two down with his cold blue eyes. He turned his gaze upon Mai, a sneer on his face. "I may or may not be that person who you said, but I remember nothing of that time. All I remember is what Malik has told me, and brief flashes of the past. It was Malik who discovered me after I awoke in Egypt, and it was he who told me who I am. So I have a proposition to make."  
  
The blond arched an eyebrow at him, Kaiba merely looked him in the eyes, meeting him glare for glare. In that brief moment Dalin realized that Kaiba had not merely delayed the duel for clean-up, he had been hoping for something to happen, and he was now upset because it hadn't. "Okay Dalin, what proposition might that be?"  
  
The golden-blond haired duelist raised his arm and pressed a special button on top of the deck slot. With a click the holder raised up and his deck was ejected, allowing him to pick it up. He grabbed the deck and extended it to the woman in front of him.   
  
"You don't trust me to shuffle, and I don't think you'll call for your own shuffling being enough. So I propose that you use my deck and I use yours. With no knowledge of specifically what cards you have or where they might be I have no way of shuffling the deck to my liking. The summary, we swap decks."  
  
Mai stared hard at his extended deck, then back at the deck in her duel disk. After several moments of this she looked up and gave him a small smile. "I've always liked a challenge, and this seems like a fair one to me. I accept."   
  
The two duelist swapped deck and shuffled those decks. Each of them handed their "new" deck to Kaiba, who cut each deck three times before handing them back. Satisfied they both took their decks and took their places on the dueling field.   
  
With a click their duel disks activated, shifting into dueling position. The life point counters rose to four thousand on each one and the field's holographic projectors activated. The ref raised one arm into the air to declare the start of the duel. With the practiced action of professionals the two duelists drew their opening hands and announced their start. "Duel Start!"  
  
Mai grinned as she took the opportunity and the privilege of going first. She slipped the top card of her, or rather her opponent's deck, out from under the holder. She quickly added it to her hand and assessed her options. She spotted two cards that seemed highly usable for the moment...one of which seemed like it didn't fit in a man like Dalin's deck.   
  
"I'll start this duel off by setting up one card and then summoning Dancing Faeries(17000/1000) in defense mode!" The face down card appeared, and soon after the out of place card appeared as well. A large rose materialized on the field, and then opened up, revealing its precious contents.   
  
Three tiny little girls with angel wings sat in a circle inside the rose, playing some kind of game with each other. Two of them had red hair and the third had dark blond hair. They certainly didn't seem menacing. The sheer cuteness factor of the card produced a sweat drop from everyone present, except for the two duelists. "End turn!"  
  
Dalin smirked and then placed the top card from Mai's deck into his hand, watching as the deck holder dropped down to hold the rest of his, or rather her, cards carefully. He didn't know a lot about her deck strategy, but just by reading the effects of the cards in his hand he was able to get a general idea of what his first move should be.   
  
"I'll begin by summoning Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) in attack mode! Next I'll equip her with Arrow Claw to boost her attack strength by three hundred!" Appearing in front of Dalin was a monster that was far more impressive then the defensive monster in front of Mai. However Dalin knew quite while that the monster's effect made up for its lackluster appearance. He just hoped Mai never got his key card.   
  
The harpy with its blue wings and skin had a body armor on it, making it more fearsome looking then the regular Harpy Lady. It was the same kind of armor that would appear on Harpy Lady when equipped with Cyber Shield. However now the monster was equipped with a sharp claw that extended nearly a foot out from its hand.   
  
"I'll continue by playing the magic card Ten Thousand Reflections, to triple my harpy and to create her sisters!" As the rest of those present had seen several times before, the harpy shimmered for a moment before distorting. Soon two different harpies flanked the original, looking just as deadly as the first. Like the first they had a boosted attack rating of 2100, making them a fearsome army.   
  
(A.N.-I chose to use Ten Thousand Reflections as a statement to one simple fact. Elegant Egotist has nothing to do with what the card actually does! Therefore I stuck with the name that made more sense. If anyone is offended by my use of the japanese card's name...I don't care.)  
  
"I'll set up one card and then end my turn. I have to say Mai, your deck is pretty clever. I'm impressed." Despite the fact that he knew Dancing Faeries' effect, he was forced to abstain from attacking this turn, as per the effect of the Ten Thousand Reflections card. Now, the instant Mai drew a card she'd get a boost in life points, putting her farther ahead of Dalin. But then again, that was to be expected from his deck. He'd just have to smash her quickly.   
  
Mai smirked as she picked up another card and placed it into her hand. Then the effect of her angel monster activated. The three little angels turned and giggled as they blew rose petals at her. They whirled about her body created a gentle and refreshing breeze, particularly refreshing to her life points. (MLP: 5000)   
  
"I'll start this turn off by summoning Zolga(1700/1000) in attack mode!" Mai's newest monster was essentially a flying geometric shape with a cape. Despite its strange appearance the monster was actually an angel sub-type, leading her to believe that all of his monsters were except for a rare few. Seemed strange to see a man using angel monsters.   
  
"Open face down card, Reflective Mirror! Now I'll get two more Cyber Harpies!" Mai gasped as one of her better trap cards flipped up, revealing a mirror that had three parts to it. Its effect would allow Dalin to special summon harpy tokens equal to the number of monsters she had on the field. The harpy tokens would take on the attributes of one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy that was on the field.   
  
Now Dalin had an army of five Cyber Harpies, each with a respectable attack strength of 2100. If he was able to get rid of her defenses then he'd be able to cut through her life points in one turn. She'd just have to prevent that. "I'll now activate my own face down card, Altar For Tribute! I'll sacrifice my Zolga to increase my life points by seventeen hundred!"   
  
The floating geometric shape was placed onto a giant alter, and then shattered with a pulse of energy. All that remained was a floating orb of the purest nature, and in seconds that orb had shot forwards and collided with Mai, not damaging her but instead giving her greater health. (MLP: 6700) "I'll set a single card face down and then end my turn. Back to you Dalin."  
  
With the card he had just drawn Dalin now had three cards in his hand. Two of them he could play right now to make this duel much easier. Mai certainly had a way with her cards. It appeared that she was an expert duelist and an expert deck builder in her own right. "I'll sacrifice two of my five harpies for Harpies Pet Dragon(2000/2500)! With three harpies on the field its attack is boosted to 2900 and its defense to 3400, making it more then a match for any monster you can summon. Trust me, I know."  
  
The dragon was big and a pinkish color. Its long, leathery wings ended in curved talons capable of easily rending flesh from even the toughest of creatures. Its long ears twitched briefly as one of the harpies stroked its head. Another one of the harpies gladly took up the long thick chain that trailed from its neck. This was the ultimate weapon of a harpy deck, the servant of the harpies.   
  
"Now its time for me to cut down your defenses without attacking, I play Phoenix Formation!" Mai gasped as one of her deadliest magic cards was activated. She had no way to stop it either! In moments her monster would be gone and she'd be virtually defenseless!   
  
The three harpies leapt into the air and formed a triangle formation. A bright fire ignites behind them and then engulfs them. Forming from the fire is the massive shape of a burning phoenix. The phoenix formation surged higher into the air and then came diving down, colliding with the rose and its inhabitants, burning them to cinders in mere seconds. (MLP: 5000)   
  
The fire extinguished itself and the three harpies touched down, briefly patting the head of their pat before turning their eyes upon their former master's unguarded life points. Due to the effect of Phoenix Formation Mai had lost the attack strength of the monster that was destroyed, but now the three harpies couldn't attack. "Harpie's Pet Dragon, attack Mai directly with Blazing Flame!"   
  
The large dragon reared up and set its sights on Mai. Then it lunged its head forward and belched out a gout of flame. The fire streaked towards Mai's unguarded life points, only to strike upon a metal shield. Extending out from the shield was a field of energy that sent funnels of blue flame running down into Mai's duel disk. "My...or should I say your trap card Drain Shield negates the attack and gives me my dragon's attack strength. Thanks Dalin, you just helped me out."  
  
(MLP: 7900) Mai quickly pulled the first card off her deck, knowing she had to come up with something good or else in the next turn she'd be finished. She started looking carefully at the effects of each of the cards in her hand, trying to come up with a good strategy that could keep her from getting taken out. After nearly a minute of thinking it through the cards connected, and she realized what she could do.   
  
"I'll summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode!" As Dalin started considering what sort of move she might be taking, putting an obviously out powered monster in attack mode, he realized she might have his key card. If she did then it was as good as over for him. He barely even noticed as the blond angel appeared on the field, wings extended, arms crossed over her chest. The three spheres that circled her, one red, one blue, one purple, all swirled ominously, portending something dangerous to come.   
  
"Now I'll play these two magic cards to seal your fate! Demotion and Camouflage Armor!" The angel that stood its ground on Mai's field was surrounded by a pure white light as the two equip cards started to take effect. With a flicker of power the angel vanished into thin air, leaving only the three glowing spheres behind. However the shape of the angel could vaguely be made out.   
  
On the side lines several of the onlookers tried to figure out exactly what was going on. To do so they turned to who the knew to be the most knowledgeable source, Yugi. Tea stepped up behind him and voiced everyone else's question. "What's that combo do Yugi? Why is Mai so confidant that its going to win the game for her?"  
  
Yugi stared hard at the field for several seconds in deep thought. Suddenly he let out a gasp as he made the connection, and whirled to face the others. The look on his face was enough to tell them that Mai's confidence was well founded.   
  
"I just remembered what Camouflage Armor did from when Dalin used it in his last duel. It allows any one start monster to attack directly. Demotion decreases the level of the monster it's equipped on by two. Playing them in combination means a three star monster like Venus, with a fairly high attack strength, can attack directly, even if Dalin has monsters on the field!"  
  
Mai smirked and raised on dainty arm to point at her opponent, then she gave the command to her angel. "Venus, attack your former master's life points directly!" The invisible angel got to work immediately. A bright blue glow of energy swirled between the three colorful spheres, and then at its peak of energy a reaction occurred. A beam of that same blue energy spiked out from the space between the spheres and struck Dalin in the chest, doing major damage to his life points.  
  
(DLP: 2400) The blond beauty plucked the last card from her hand and set it in the slot coinciding with Venus' monster zone. "I'll set my remaining card behind Venus. Now back to you grifter-boy."  
  
Dalin grimaced and snatched the first card off of his new deck and then took a look at its effect. At the moment he had few options, so he'd have to work fast to get rid of Venus. Otherwise in two more attacks he'd be finished for sure! "I play the magic card Zone Expansion, to allow me to play monsters in my magic zones and magic and trap cards in my monster zones!"  
  
He let out a deep breath and then slammed his next card down onto one of his monster zone's, the one to the right of his pet dragon. "I summon Cyber Harpy(1800/1300) and have her attack Venus!" The new harpy, this one not equipped with the Arrow Claw like the other three, took flight immediately after it appeared on the field. With its presence the pet dragon was powered up to 3200, and once it cleared the way he'd be able to go on a full-scale offensive.   
  
The harpy swooped down upon Venus and swept its claws down to strike the angel. However at the last moment a red barrier of energy appeared in front of it, stopping its strike and sending ripples throughout the barrier. Unable to get through the harpy returned to Dalin's side of the field and floated next to its sisters. "The Energy Absorption trap card negates your attack, increases my life points by half of your monster's attack, and then ends your battle phase!"  
  
(MLP: 8800) Dalin groaned in frustration as he was forced to end his turn, unable to make any other move. Now Mai had another free attack, and with it she could nearly wipe out his life points. The blond woman smirked and put a new card in her hand. She looked down at it and immediately played it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. Now Venus will attack your life points again!"   
  
A brown-backed monster card shimmered into place next to the invisible angel. Then the angel charge its blue heavenly energies between its three faithful partners, the Holy Shine Spheres, gathering its energy for one tremendous blast. Finally the heavenly energies lept from between the spheres and sent Dalin staggering. (DLP: 800)  
  
The golden blonde duelist let a small smile cross his face as he played his newly drawn card. In moments he would have new options of attack. "Activate magic card, Card of Sanctity, allowing us both to draw cards until we have six in our hands."   
  
Each duelist quietly slipped the six cards from their respective decks and then unfurled them like a fan. For the next several seconds the two duelists inspected their new cards, considering the options that had been opened to them with their new hands. "I play Ten Thousand Reflections, to bring out two more of the more powerful harpies!"   
  
One of Dalin's powered up harpies, not necessarily the original, was taken under the effect of the magic card, and in moments two more hovered behind that one, each with a different style of hair and a different coloring to it. With the addition of these two harpies the pet dragon got a boost to 3800.   
  
Dalin started to command one of his harpies to attack Venus, but when he got no response he realized exactly what the monster was that Mai had face down. The Guardian Angel, whose effect would keep Dalin from attacking it or any other angel sub-type monster as long as there was at least one other angel-subtype on the field with it. "I know what you're hiding...so I'll get around it with Magic Shard Excavation, discarding two magic cards from my hand to retrieve one magic card from the cemetery!"  
  
He slipped the two magic cards into his cemetery and then ejected one of his other cards. Grinning he activated his newest card in order to get rid of the immediate threat, Venus. "I play my recovered magic card, Phoenix Formation!"   
  
The six powerful harpies let out a shrilling shriek as they flew into the air, arranging themselves in a specialized formation. A spark ignited between them, and in moments they were engulfed by the blazing image of a fiery phoenix. The phoenix swooped down from the sky and crashed into the female angel.   
  
The feminine angel let out a quick cry as the flames of the phoenix consumed her, but even her heavenly powers were unable to save her from being burnt to a cinder. Soon even the dust had been burned away, leaving no trace that the angel had ever existed. (MLP: 7200)  
  
"Now, Harpies Pet Dragon(3800/4300), attack and destroy Mai's last defense!" The massive dragon, now joined once again by its harpy owners, reared its head back in preparation for the strike. With a quick whipping motion it shot its head forward and breathed forth a cloud of flame that easily consumed the Guardian Angel, leaving little trace.   
  
"I now play the magic card, Second Blow! At a cost of half my life points one of my monsters may attack a second time during this turn. So Harpies Pet Dragon, direct attack!" Recovering from its previous attack, the dragon took in a huge breath, and then let it out in one thick stream of fire that cascaded around Mai, leaving no room for escape. (MLP: 3400, DLP: 400)  
  
As soon as Dalin's turn was over Mai drew her seventh card and then started a quick strategy. She needed to quickly regain control over this duel, otherwise she'd quickly be finished. Luckily she had a strategy that could make quick work of that. "I set one monster in defense, and then I play Monster Reborn, to revive my Guardian Angel(0/2500) in defense mode!"  
  
Next to the floating defensive card appeared a large and well-built male angel. He wore merely a loin-cloth and each arm held a fair sized shield. However it was his wings that were the true defense. Each wing was like a thick plate of solid steel, shining in the sun as a virtually impenetrable wall as he closed them about his body, protecting himself from harm.   
  
"I'll set up two cards and then end my turn." The two brown-backed cards blinked into view, one behind each monster card. The two cards were the bulk of her strategy, so she had to hope that Dalin didn't already have or didn't draw her Harpie's Feather Duster card.   
  
Dalin glanced at the single card in his hand and grimaced, noting that it wasn't what he needed. Knowing the sort of deck she used, he knew she would have the rare and powerful Harpie's Feather Duster. If he drew that he'd probably be able to cut straight through her strategy.   
  
He drew and then tried not to show his disappointment. According to the effect on the card it was useful, but it wasn't he had been hoping for. He'd just have to make do. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and attack Guardian Angel with my Pet Dragon!"   
  
His dragon unleashed a blossom of expanding fire at the angel's defensive wings, hoping to clip them out from under it. But at the last moment one of Mai's face down cards flipped up. "Activate Soul Bubble!" The dragon sagged, a small cloud of vapor issuing from its mouth and wafting over to be absorbed into Mai's duel disk. Guardian Angel however was not so lucky, as it was vaporized by the powerful flames. By the effect of the trap card, Mai would now gain half his monster's attack strength. (MLP: 5300)   
  
"If that's how this will work, I'll just send my weakest harpy to attack your face down monster. Harpy Claw!" The weakest of the Cyber Harpies flew away from its companions and proved itself by slicing through Mai's defensive monster. Dalin groaned as a flying squirrel appeared for a brief second before vanishing in a cloud of holographic dust. (MLP: 6300)  
  
She grinned triumphantly as she used the effect of Nimble Momonga, the monster he had destroyed, to raise her life points by 1000 and special summon the other two in defense mode. Now to open the way he'd have to increase her life points by 2000 more...but it would have to be done to cause any real damage. "I'll send two more harpies in to attack and finish of the Nimble Momongas!"   
  
Two of the powered up harpies, his most recent two, swept down upon the defending squirrels and crushed them with their equipped talon, sending motes of light scattering across the field. Of course Mai reaped the reward of the destruction of the two squirrels, greedily soaking up her new life points. (MLP: 8300)   
  
Clenching his ringed hand in front of him he gave his harsh command to the remaining three harpies, his original three from the first turn. Now was his chance to deal some damage and cut Mai's life points down, it had to be done. "Harpy Lady Sisters(2100/1300X3), attack Mai's life points directly!"   
  
"Activate Nutrient Z!" Dalin grimaced as her life points shot up by four thousand all the way to 12300 just before the three harpies struck. Each taloned blow knocked Mai backwards a few feet, the final one nearly knocking her over the edge of the platform that they stood upon. Unfortunately for Dalin he had been unable to gather any serious damage, and Mai had successfully recovered from his previous turn. (MLP: 6000)   
  
The female duelist placed a card in her hand as soon as she was certain that Dalin was finished. There weren't too many moves she could make, but she had one that would be devastating too him. Not only could she stall for time to draw a good card, but she could protect herself as well. "I'll just set up one card, and a monster in defense mode."  
  
Dalin nodded and slipped another card out from underneath the deck holder. The card he had drawn would work perfectly with his face down monster, though it would have been better to have been another card. "I'll flip my face down Harpy Summoner, who when flipped lets me sacrifice him to special summon one Harpy Lady or Cyber Harpy from my hand, deck, or cemetery to the field in his place!"   
  
Mai groaned as the little witch doctor harpy vanished and was replaced by the monster Dalin had just drawn, the third and final Cyber Harpy(1800/1300). Worse yet was the effect that it had on the current situation. With a total of seven harpies on the field the pet dragon was receiving a massive boost in both attack and defense strength. Its stats now stood at an awe inspiring 4100 attack and 4600 defense. She could only think of two monster's off the top of her head that could beat that kind of attack strength. She doubted this deck had one of those.   
  
"Cyber Harpy number seven, attack and destroy her defense monster!" The newest harpy flapped its powerful wings and rose into the air. Then it streaked across the field to attack Mai's defense monster. However it was met by Mai's face down card.   
  
"Reveal Racial Trial! Its effect lets me keep any of your monsters of a stated sub-type from attacking, and I'll choose winged beast to keep those seven harpies from going all out on me. All I need to do is discard one card from my hand each standby phase and I'll be set."  
  
With a snarl of frustration Dalin gave the command for his only available attacker, Harpie's Pet Dragon, to attack Mai's defense monster. When the flame struck the monster it failed to destroy it, and a worm like monster launched itself at the dragon and wrapped around the dragon's head. "Damn it! Its Kisetai!" He pounded one fist into his thigh in a display of frustrated anger, and then motioned for Mai to take her turn.   
  
She drew, and thanks to the effect of Kisetai she gained half the attack strength of his pet dragon to her life points. Now she'd recover quickly while he remained unable to attack with his other monsters. (MLP: 8050) She smirked and discard one card from her hand to pay for Racial Trial. "I'll set one monster in defense mode. That'll be all."  
  
Dalin drew his card and suddenly realized the bind that he had found himself in. There were two ways he could open up the way for the attack. The first was for Mai to be unable to discard for Racial Trial in her next turn, though that didn't seem likely since she still had one card in her hand.   
  
The second was for him to use a magic removal card, but that option was no longer valid. He had trapped himself using her combos. On his field were a total of eight monsters, one equip card, and the magic card Zone Expansion that made it all possible. The problem was that with all ten of his zones taken up he had absolutely no way of using a magic removal card, or any other new card for that matter. He had no options at all!  
  
"Harpy's Pet Dragon, attack and destroy Mai's defense monster!" His only usable monster, the pet dragon, unleashed a long stream of flame that consumed Mai's defense monster. Upon seeing what it was Dalin wished he hadn't attacked, because he recognized the monster he had destroyed. He let out a groan as bright ball of light rose up between the two and then exploded, knocking both of them off their feet.   
  
As the two pulled themselves to their feet, Mai got her chance to gloat at the fallen fellow. "I guess you recognize the effect of your own monster, Angel of Despair(1000/1000). Because your life points were lower then mine when it was destroyed we both lost life points equal to half of your total before it was destroyed. For me that's hardly anything, for you that's almost everything!" (MLP: 7850, DLP: 200)   
  
Mai smirked as she drew and watched her life points soar to a point higher then they had reached ever before in this duel. At least reached and stayed there for more then a second. (MLP: 9900) She slid a single card into her cemetery pile, but found that she was unable to make a move. She sighed as she realized that her hard earned life points were about to take another dip. "End turn."  
  
Dalin smirked as he hastily drew his next card. It was another formation card, this time a trap, but in his current position he couldn't use it. Not that it mattered as he had a clear path to her life points. Now was not the time to dally, now was the time to attack! "Pet Dragon, burn her life points with your deadly flames!"  
  
The dragon happily belched out its flame attack, sending it in a spiral that surrounded and burnt Mai. Though it seemed like the flames were hot, in reality they were merely holographic, and therefore she wasn't actually hurt. Her life points on the other hand had been reduced by nearly half. (MLP: 5800)   
  
With a single draw Mai undid most of the damage that Dalin had done just moments before. Exactly half of what he had just accomplished was a memory now, unimportant in the current scheme of things. (MLP: 7850) She casually discarded one of her two cards, and then made an important choice. If she could single tribute monster, and she could keep her monsters out long enough, then she'd be able to finish Dalin off by destroying his weaker harpies. "I set a monster face down and end my turn!"  
  
The muscular duelist added a fourth card to his hand and immediately called out his only option. To attack with the pet dragon. Its fire attack struck the defense monster, revealing a man in monk robes with short wings popping out of his back. "Sorry Dalin, but by destroying Ascending Man(500/1200) you let me summon another one in defense mode, and my life points increase by 500!" (MLP: 8350)   
  
"I know that! Its my card! Grrr...I'll switch each of my harpies to defense mode, to protect them. End turn!" Mai let out a quiet groan as he saw through her plan, keeping her from winning even if she drew a sacrificeable monster. Now she had to hope for some sort of direct damage card...and soon. With no cards in her hand, the instant she drew she'd have to discard what she drew or face losing Racial Trial. Unless it was good she couldn't afford to do that.  
  
"Draw!" (MLP: 10400) Her life points soared, but the card she had drawn wouldn't be able to help her. Sadly she discarded it, keeping Racial Trial in play for another turn at the very least. Hopefully with the help of Ascending Man she'd be able to get what she needed.   
  
Once Dalin saw the signal to start his turn he drew, but finding no way to get rid of his current lock he was forced into the only available move. The move he had been using far too often over this past turns. It was starting to get old. For the second time in as many turns his dragon scorched an Ascending Man, letting me summon the final one in defense mode and increase her life points yet again. Dalin was starting to understand how annoying his deck could be. (MLP: 10900)  
  
(MLP: 12950) The female duelist tried not to tear her hair out as she got yet another card she couldn't use. Sure it was a good card, but it wasn't worth keeping just to lose her only true defense. Grimacing she sent it to the cemetery, and passed her turn.   
  
Despite having six cards in his hand, Dalin was still out of options. Hell, he didn't know any way he could get out of this bind. He just had to hope he was able to get past Mai's ever increasing life points before she could finish him off with a direct damage card of some kind.   
  
As the last Ascending Man vanished under a sea of scorching hot flames Mai knew that she was just about out of time. With no monster to guard her and her only remaining defense being Racial Trial she had to get something to finish the duel in this turn, or else she'd start to take a serious beating.   
  
She plucked free her next card and slowly turned it over to reveal...a one tribute monster! Of all the times to get what she had hoped for earlier why now? She dropped it into the cemetery and signaled the end of her turn. (MLP: 15500)  
  
Dalin took a deep breath and drew his next card. He glanced down at it and then slowly turned his gaze up to Mai. Her eyes widened in fright as she saw the confidant look on his face. Now was his chance to take up the mantle of victor. He would win!   
  
"Thank you Mai. Not only have you let me prove myself, you've also given me a chance to improve myself by dueling with cards I'm not used to. Also, I want to thank you for helping me win this duel. Because I was beginning to think you had only one monster that required sacrifices. Turns out you have two, though they are both one and the same! Watch and learn as I tribute my two weakest harpies for Harpie's Pet Dragon(3500/4000) in attack mode!"  
  
With a crash of thunder a second massive dragon appeared beside the second. The two snapped at each other before a quick tug on the chains that hung around their necks stopped their fussing. Both mighty dragons pressed the heads against their respective handlers, receiving a calming pat on the head in return. "Because this monster requires two tributes it helped me open up one of my zones, and that will allow me to play Harpie's Feather Duster!"   
  
Mai let out a sharp gasp as the magical wind blew out from the wings of the five harpies on Dalin's field, blasting her Racial Trial and Kisetai away. The blond duelist gulped as she slowly counted up attack points and compared them to her remaining life points. The answer wasn't a very happy one.   
  
"Now my harpy family, finish this duel!" Mai hung her head in defeat as twin columns of flame and a blast of wind crashed into her, knocking her off her feet and obliterating the last of her life points. On one hand she felt happy for such a great duel, on the other she was upset that she had lost. For all she knew she might have gotten those same cards if she hadn't switched decks with him. (MLP: 0)  
  
She looked up in surprise as a strong hand took hers and helped her up. With the other hand Dalin handed her the deck she had worked so hard to create. It looked like he had even shuffled in the cards that had gone to his cemetery.   
  
Smiling she slipped Dalin's deck out of her holder and then added the cards in her cemetery to it, making it a complete deck. Satisfied she handed it to the taller man and received a big grin in response. "Dalin...sorry for misjudging you."  
  
He shrugged his shoulder and turned away, heading towards where the others had been watching. For the next match he too would be a spectator. The next duel would most likely be an exciting one. "Dalin! Are you going to take one of my rare cards for winning?"  
  
The tall duelist held up a single card over his shoulder, giving Mai a good view of her Harpie's Feather Duster card. She sighed and started to follow the man who had just beaten her. 'Oh well," she though, 'At least now I'll have a use for that spare.'  
  
******************************************  
  
"You were the one who gave us them weren't you!" The two fighters, Ryu and Kensai, had found and confronted Taichi in the manner they knew how. They threatened him and got loud. Throughout the entire thing Taichi hadn't even been bothering to hide the fact that their antics amused him. And as he finally gave them a nod in the affirmative, an even wider grin broke out on his face.   
  
As Ryu had asked the last question it was now Kensai's turn to ask their other question of the psychotic duelist. The only other question they had for him actually. "I don't get it...why give us the locator cards to get in? It doesn't make any sense!"  
  
Taichi erased all emotion from his face for the few moments necessary to make the two fighters wonder exactly what he was thinking...and then he gave them his biggest grin yet. "I'd think it would be obvious. Seeing you two idiots bumble in your duels was just plain funny as hell! That's why I did it!"  
  
The two fighters surged forward to attack him in their anger, but with a flash of golden power Taichi sent to the two of them crashing to the ground. Manhandling these two with the great power he possessed was like a bull dog fighting a kitten. However...he had one more use from these fools. "Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"  
  
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.   
  
"We accept."  
  
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Author's Note: I hope you enjoyed this chapter and that you'll leave a review for me.   
  
Original Cards  
  
Dalin's Deck: Energy Absorption, Guardian Angel, Soul Bubble, Angel of Despair, Ascending Man  
  
Mai's Deck: Zone Expansion, Second Blow, Harpy Summoner  
  
Next Time: The final duel of the quarter finals commences, and its Drake and Autumn in a furious battle of great skill on both duelist's part. The double duel with Taichi commences and he unveils exactly how much he was holding back on Kirani, and the true deadly nature of his deck. Do his opponents stand a chance, or will they suffer the worst fate of all? 


	17. The Burning Heart of a Duelist

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh!  
  
Author's Note: This chapter contains further mentions of rather negative things. Also, this chapter contains blood, violence, and severe language. This chapter is officialy rated R due to mature content. If this offends you, I apologize, but once again I felt it was necessary for the furthering of the story.   
  
  
  
"I have something to say: It's better to burn out, than to fade away!" -The Highlander  
  
Chapter Sixteen: The Burning Heart of a Duelist  
  
Hinata knew that she had to hurry. Those idiots had a head start on her, and if they did something to piss Taichi off she knew they'd be in trouble. So she had to catch up to them in time to stop them from doing something stupid. She considered it her duty to help those less fortunate then her...that and she cared too much about Ryu to see him get hurt.   
  
As her feet pounded against the cold metal floor she thanked the training she had received for teaching her how to control her breathing. If it hadn't then she probably wouldn't be able to keep up running like this without losing her breath.  
  
Up ahead she could hear the voices of the three boys, which meant that Ryu and Kensai had already found Taichi. Not good at all. Putting on a burst of speed she whipped around the corner in time to see Ryu make a bad decision.   
  
"Offended are you? Why not show me what you're capable of. I challenge both of you to a two on one duel!"  
  
Ryu brushed past his companion and activated his duel disk. It slid into position with a loud clank as he stepped forward, duel disk held aloft and ready for action. He fixed Taichi with the deadly stare of one who has faced death and all sorts of bodily harm many times...and he returned Taichi's grin with one of his own.   
  
"We accept." Hinata groaned when she heard him say this. The noise was enough to alert the two fighters to her presence, and they whirled around to see who it was. Upon seeing her they both let out a sigh of relief.   
  
Ryu flashed her a grin and pointed back at Taichi with his thumb. The psycho duelist grinned wickedly and then stuck his tongue out at Ryu's back. "That jerk-off just challenged me and Kensai to a two on one duel, so we're gonna kick his ass. Wanna watch?"   
  
A rough clearing of the throat turned Ryu to his companion, the martial artist Kensai. "About that. See you said 'we accept', but you never asked me whether I accepted. I don't think this duel is a good idea, so I don't accept."   
  
Kensai blinked as the younger fighter got up in his face, staring him coldly in the eye. Apparently Ryu wasn't too happy with his decision to not duel Taichi, but his reasons were his own. And Ryu wasn't going to be changing his mind. "Are you saying that you're afraid of dueling Taichi?"  
  
Ryu grabbed for the front of Kensai's gi in order to pull him forwards, but the fighter reacted automatically. With a sweeping gesture of one hand he knocked Ryu's hand aside. In kind the younger warrior snapped his hand around in a rolling motion that brought it over Kensai's block. For the next several seconds they had an exchange of various grappling moves, until the older and more experienced Kensai managed to pin both of Ryu's hands against his chest.   
  
"I'm not afraid of dueling him, I'm saying that this situation doesn't feel right. Taichi seems just as confident as he was against Kirani, a duelist who was capable of beating you but didn't just so you could get your Blue Eyes back. In fact, from the looks of it, it seemed like he was holding back, just waiting for his Exodia. If we duel him, I know something bad will happen."  
  
Ryu snarled and snatched his hands free. He made a quick snap-turn and was abruptly facing Taichi. Glaring at the other boy he drew five cards from his deck, and inspected them carefully. Once he had checked each of his cards he snapped his head up. "If that's how you feel Kensai, then I'll duel Taichi one on one! I don't give a damn if he beat Kirani even holding back, I'll duel on my terms even if I have to do it alone! I've always been alone anyways..."  
  
"But you aren't now!" These words forced the attention of all three duelists on someone they had been ignoring. Hinata. She stepped forward and plucked a deck from her pocket. In moments she was standing side by side with Ryu, deck in one hand, and a victory sign aimed at Ryu in the other.   
  
"Hinata...you...thanks." The two duelists and long time friends looked into each other's eyes and stayed that way for several seconds, neither looking away. In this moment the two of them shared a connection that went beyond whatever relationship they had. In that moment they were one person, with one goal in mind.   
  
They were snapped out of this moment when Hinata was forced to catch a silvery item that was lobbed at her. She fumbled for a second, nearly missing the catch, but then she managed to get a firm grip on the edge. She looked up from the object to Kensai, whose arm now no longer held his DD2. She flashed him a smile and he just shrugged back. "I know I'm not going to talk either of you thickheaded kids out of this thing, so I figure I'll just encourage you. Kick his ass!"  
  
Ryu and Hinata, a team, a family, both extended their activated duel disks and their initial hands of cards. It would be a two on one duel, but only for Taichi. For both Ryu and Hinata, they were one and the same. It was a one on one duel, and nobody could tell them different.   
  
Taichi smirked and activated his own duel disk, drawing his opening hand. Then he extended his arms out to either side and grinned wickedly as a purple fog issued from his body. The fog, however, didn't have the hoped for effect. Ryu and Hinata didn't even twitch as it swirled about their feet, and started rising up around them.   
  
"This is a two on one duel. I will go first, followed by Ryu, and then Hinata. However this is also a Shadow Game, therefore the consequences of losing are high. When this duel is over, somebody will lose their soul! The rest of the rules will appear as we commence. Do you two accept this Shadow Game?"  
  
As one the two duelists nodded their acceptance, and the game was on. Kensai, on the outside of the fog, could only watch helplessly as a duel that would determine each of their fates began. He could only hope that they would make it out safely, and that his warrior's sense was wrong.   
  
Taichi gave them both a wild grin as he drew his sixth card commencing the duel. (TLP: 4000, RLP: 4000, HLP: 4000) Keeping the wild grin on his face he picked one of his cards from his hand and then slipped it into its activation slot.   
  
"I play the magic card Demon Puppetry. Because there are no demon sub-type monsters on the field I can now special summon a demon monster from my hand at no cost. So say hello to Dark Baltar the Terrible(2000/1200)!"   
  
The monster that was summoned was over eight feet in height, and deadly looking. His lower body was covered by gold armor with spikes coming from the sides, and a green cape covered most of the same armor on his upper body. A mass of spiky hair cascaded down around the strange white linked chain that draped over his shoulders.   
  
Ryu shouted in surprise and frustration as he saw the monster summoned to the field. "You can't do that! Dark Baltar is a fusion monster, it can't be summoned like that!" Taichi merely laughed and displayed the card on his duel disk, which quite obviously did not have a purple background.   
  
Taichi then turned back to his move, and continued by taking another card out of his hand and slapping it down next to Baltar on his monster field. "Next I'll summon Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) in attack mode!"   
  
The new monster was wearing silvery knight's armor and held a wicked looking scimitar in one hand. The helmet that covered its skeletal face tapered off at the ends with a set of horns that went out, one to each side. "I'll finish up by setting two cards. Show me what the two of you are capable of!"   
  
Ryu nodded and snapped a card off his deck. He looked down at his hand and found an excellent combo that he could use. In his first turn he'd have out a monster stronger then many tribute monsters. "I'll summon Slate Warrior(1900/400) in attack mode!"   
  
Ryu's first monster was a tall, strange looking creature. Its body was covered by some sort of yellow armor that had two red eyes on the chest plate. Its head was a light blue color, and a red jewel adorned its forehead. "I'll set up one card, and then equip Slate Warrior with Breaker Blade!"  
  
First one card appeared face down to the left and behind Slate Warrior. Then another card appeared face up, and from it burst a serrated broadsword measuring nearly four feet in length. Slate Warrior snatched it up out of the air, and its stats got a boost.   
  
"Not only does Breaker Blade boost Slate Warrior(2600/400)'s attack by 700, it also allows it deal to deal damage to your life points even if your monster is in defense! Your just lucky I can't attack until my next turn."  
  
Hinata snapped a card off her deck in a confident manner. A confidence that hid the fact that she was just an amateur at this game, and hadn't had a chance to get very proficient at it. The only reason she had a card as rare as Jinzo was because she got lucky in her first booster pack. "Well, I guess I'll start off simple by setting Landstar Swordsman(500/1500) in defense mode."  
  
Hinata's monster appeared on the field, crouching in defense. Because it had been summoned face-up in defense mode, its card appeared beneath it in a sideways position. Its appearance led Ryu to wonder why she had a monster that weak in her deck. "I'll set one card. Now I'll use one of my best cards. I play Wave Motion Cannon!"   
  
Ryu's eyes lit up with glee as her magic card started to appear on the field. Wave Motion Cannon was extremely deadly and extremely rare. After its activation, during Hinata's standby phases it would begin to count. At whatever time she wished she could send it to her cemetery during her main phase to inflict damage to Taichi's life points equal to 1000 times the number of her standby phases it had been active. If they could keep it on the field for four turns then they'd have the game won without having to do anything!  
  
Taichi smirked and waggled a single finger in disapproval. He was acting like an adult chiding a little child for making a mistake...but he was the one who was in trouble. "Trying to beat me without any real effort? Sorry, but I won't allow that. I'll pay 1000 life points to activate Baltar's effect, to negate and destroy you magic card!"   
  
(TLP: 3000) Baltar let out a loud belly laugh as it snatched the white object up from around its shoulders and hurled it full force at Hinata's magic card. It crashed right through the card, shattering it, and then came back to Baltar.   
  
Ryu and Hinata looked on in shock as Taichi grabbed at his chest, his face twisted in a rictus of pain. His body twitched wildly for a few seconds and then subsided. Once it was over the duelist shook his head and offered them a happy grin.   
  
"Remember those rules I mentioned? Well this is one of them. Whenever a player loses life points, their soul is slowly separated from their body. You both saw Kirani lose her soul, and she never reacted. That was because it was instantly removed. In this case the very bonds of your soul are pulled free of your body, and the more life points you lose, the less yourself you will become! Of course that doesn't matter to me, because the only soul in this body is its original one, and losing it will be no great loss. Now do you understand the consequences of agreeing to this duel? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
The psychotic duelist grabbed at his next card, barely looking at it before he slammed it down on the field, picking up another monster in the process. "I'll tribute Skull Knight #2 for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600)! Not only that, but by offering my knight as tribute for a demon sub-type I can now special summon another Skull Knight #2(1000/1200) face up in attack mode!"   
  
The deadly, blue skinned ruler of the underworld exploded from the ground beside Baltar, and then took his place. Hades was even bigger then his associate, and deadlier as well. At his summoning another plot of grounded erupted, and from it rose the second Skull Knight #2. "Now that I've got these monsters, I'll activate my face down card, Demon Catapult!"  
  
One of Taichi's face down cards, a trap, flipped up. In a flurry of holographic light a massive catapult decorated with skulls and other various body parts creaked forward next to the three demons. As soon as it was in place, the Skull Knight lept into the launch position, and Hades stepped up to grab the lever.   
  
"By sacrificing one demon sub-type on my field I can send cards from your hand or the top of your deck to the cemetery equal to the level of stars of the monster I sacrifice. Of course its only a one time trap, so you don't have to worry about that much. Now I launch him to destroy the three cards in your hands!"   
  
The two duelists braced themselves as Hades pulled the lever, sending Skull Knight #2 flying at them at high speeds. It exploded right in front of them, sending bones flying in all directions. The shear force of the detonation knocked both of them off their feet and a yard backwards.   
  
With a groan they both got to their feet and deposited their remaining cards in the cemetery. However by the look of things Taichi wasn't finished yet. He had other plans. "I play the magic card, Treasure of Hell, making all three of us draw cards from the bottom of our decks until we have six cards in our hands!"   
  
Ryu and Hinata sent each other a glance of confusion as they picked up their decks and drew their six cards. It didn't make sense for Taichi to make them discard and then make them draw cards. Taichi was up to something.  
  
"Yes, you guessed correctly. I do have something planned! Tell me, do you know about voodoo? You see voodoo is a form of black magic, where a representative, often a doll, is used as a focal point. The representative can be manipulated to effect the thing it represents. Why do I say this you ask? Because my next card is Big Bad Voodoo!"   
  
The magic card that appeared in front of Taichi depicted a pair of hands sticking pins into a doll. In the background a man was shown screaming agony. "I can now discard any number of cards from my hand, and because those cards represent your cards, you must discard the same number. Now I discard five cards from my hand!"   
  
The other duelists groaned as they sent four of their six new cards to the cemetery, and watching as Taichi did the same. Taichi smirked and activated his remaining face down card. "Open trap, Forced Requisition! Whenever I discard a card you must now discard the same number! So discard five more cards, two from your hand and three from the top of your deck!"   
  
Ryu was starting to catch on to what he believed Taichi's true strategy to be. Already he had been forced to send thirteen cards to his cemetery. Hinata had fourteen in hers and both had played a total of sixteen cards. If a person's deck contained the minimum of forty cards that would already be more then a fourth of their deck. Taichi was trying to deck them out!   
  
Suddenly Taichi grinned and plucked his deck from the holder. As he did so he ejected a card from his cemetery and displayed it to them. It was a magic card with a picture of severed hand just floating there.   
  
"This move is an interesting one. You see, one of the cards I discarded was Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet. When it goes to the cemetery I'm allowed to guess the type of card that is at the bottom of my deck, magic, trap, or monster, and if I guess correctly I can draw five cards. In a case like this you either need to be lucky, a cheater, or you'd need to be able to see the future to get it right! So I'll guess it's a monster card!"   
  
He extended the deck, bottom facing forward, so that Ryu and Hinata could see what type of card it was. Low and behold it was indeed a monster, in fact it was the one monster the two of them had no idea how they might defeat it. It was a good thing it was at the bottom of his deck. They nodded to Taichi, who grinned and picked that card up. "Whether I had gotten it right or not, I'm forced to discard the bottom card that I guessed at. Don't worry about it being Exodia, I don't need its power to destroy the likes of you!"   
  
Taichi apparently wasn't finished with his turn, as he drew five cards and then slid another card into a slot and pressed the activation button. He certainly seemed to be on a roll with all of these combos. "I play Technique of Exorcism! This is the magic card version of Demon Catapult, except the cards you discard can only be from the top of your deck. So I'll sacrifice Baltar for its effect!"   
  
Baltar let out a cry of agony and a black cloud erupted from his body, destroying him. The cloud lifted up and then swarmed towards Taichi's opponents, surrounded them. It hovered there for several seconds before flying into their duel disks. At that moment, as they were forced to send their five cards on the top of their decks to the grave, Hinata came to the same conclusion Ryu had. The worst part was...they had no way to stop him.   
  
"I'll set one card face down on the field, and end my turn. Lets see what you two can accomplish without any options whatsoever!" On the outside of the fog Kensai was biting his lip so hard it was starting to bleed. He had known that this wasn't a good idea, but he had helped Hinata anyway. He had figured that if they were both so determined to duel, then Ryu would have a better chance with Hinata by his side. Now he was starting to think he should have requested it be a three on one duel, maybe then they'd have a chance.  
  
With no cards in his hand Ryu felt that top decking really did leave him with hardly any options. He'd have to get really lucky if he was going to manage to take Taichi out before he destroyed their decks. He picked the card up and looked down at it. Recognizing the picture he played it without reading the effect text. "I equip Slate Warrior with Life Giving Gauntlets, too boost his attack to 3100!"   
  
Slate Warrior remained impassive, even as its already large fists were covered by spiked gauntlets. The gauntlets were more then ordinary, as they let out an eerie orange glow. "Aside from boosting Slate Warrior's attack by five hundred, the gauntlets do exactly what they say. When I deal damage to my opponent's life points with a monster that has these equipped to it, I gain life points equal to the damage it deals to my opponent's life points. So go Slate Warrior! Destroy Hades!"  
  
Slate Warrior launched itself at the demon lord, swinging its blade as it went. But Taichi had other plans. "Activate Armored Glass!" A small shell of glass armor appeared right in Slate Warrior's path. The conditioned warrior automatically slashed at it with its blade, shattering the armor. However the swing put it off balance, and it stumbled into Hades's chest. The ruler of the underworld grabbed the warrior by the throat and snapped his neck with a twisting motion. Slate Warrior faded away.   
  
(RLP: 3450) Ryu's body was burning. Never before had he experienced agony like what he felt at that moment. It was pain beyond description. Mind numbing, dreadful pain that flooded his body. To him it was as if a millennia passed before it ended. In reality it was merely a few seconds. As he started to get his faculties back he realized exactly how much worse it would have been if the damage had been greater. "How?"  
  
Taichi's response was simple. He didn't bother to boast, or make any sort of violent or taunting gestures, he just explained it. "Every good duelist should have a side deck. Knowing the sort of cards you used I slipped Armored Glass into my deck before the duel started. When you equip a monster with an equip card I can activate Armored Glass. For the duration of the turn the effects of all equip cards are negated. So you ran your 1900 power attacker into my 2450 attacker. Hence your loss and my gain."  
  
Ryu grimaced, knowing that his only hope lay with his partner. His face down card was only a delay. It would only work once. It was up to Hinata to pull something off. The said duelist picked up her next card, giving her one card in her hand, and then set it on the field. "I'll set a monster in defense mode. That's all for me."   
  
Ryu and Kensai both groaned, knowing that their team was in bad shape for whatever move Taichi might make next. Taichi knew this, and as he drew a fourth card into his hand he flashed them a sadistic grin to show that he was well aware of this.   
  
"I'll set one card face down, and activate the magic card, Halt Play! Now, until the end of my opponent's next turn, no magic or trap cards can be activated. So I'll summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500) and have it and Dark Ruler Hades attack Ryu directly!"   
  
The monster that Taichi summoned was a purple skinned demon with spikes extending from all parts of his body and a pair of curling steel horns on the side of its head. A green cape fluttered behind it and its weapon of choice was a scimitar that looked as deadly as the skull knight's had.   
  
The Demon Soldier unsheathed its blade and bounded across the field, Hades running at his side. Their goal was to strike down Ryu, and without the power to activate his own face down card, he was utterly defenseless...or so he thought.   
  
"Landstar Swordsman, defend against Hades's attack!" Hinata's little swordsman lept in the way and took the full force of Hades's strike. The demon ruler picked the swordsman up in both its hands and then brought him forcefully down upon its knee. The breaking of bone could be heard, and Landstar Swordsman screamed in agony as its back was broken.   
  
Its cry was accompanied moments later by the cry of the duelist it had been protecting. Demon Soldier's slashing blade cut a red line across Ryu's shoulder and then the game's rule took effect. He started to lose who he was as his life points ticked down. This time the pain was so far beyond what he had previously experienced that the world itself faded away, leaving nothing but the cold white of his agony.   
  
(RLP: 1550) Slowly the other colors in the spectrum of his world started to return. However the blank look on his face was enough to let those present realize that something had changed. His confusion was evident, and its cause was that so much of who he was had been separated from his body. He just couldn't remember who he was.   
  
Taichi's eyes widened in shock as the Millennium Gauntlet on Ryu's fist blazed a gold color. It was resonating in response to a huge surge in power that was coming from the area of the dueling arena. Even the power that Taichi possessed was resonating with the awesome force that was being displayed. It was impossible! Nobody here had that kind of power except for him, and even he would have to call upon the powers of all the Millennium items he possessed to surpass it!  
  
************************************   
  
Ryu, yes, Ryu was his name. Ryu Shigeru. Yes, Ryu Shigeru existed in a world that was full of all sorts of things. However all of these things were shady, at the edge of his vision. Always out of reach. But the golden glow from his hand was changing that. Memories lit up for him, displaying his life piece by piece.   
  
In a few seconds he would come out of his daze and be a changed person. He would not remember anything that had happened in the time between his full awakening and the time of the Demon Soldier's strike. But none of that time mattered. His whole being had been returned to him, and for the first time he could thank the gauntlet for being helping him out.  
  
***********************************  
  
Ryu Shigeru drew his next card, stood confidently before his opponent. "I pass my turn to end the effect of Halt Play. I may not have been able to make a worthwhile move, but I trust Hinata. I know that she'll turn this duel around for us."   
  
Hinata gave him a winning smile and drew her card. The green pot that greeted her was a much welcome sight that would help her out. "I'll use Pot of Greed to draw two more cards." She sent that card to the cemetery and then picked up two more cards from the top of her deck. A deck that under Taichi's assault had quickly dwindled. Originally she had started with forty-seven cards in her deck. That number was now down to twenty-three. Half her deck was gone.   
  
She took one of the two cards she had drawn and prepared to use it. First however, she had to use her face down monster. "I'll flip my face down monster, Bubonic Vermin! By its effect I can special summon another Bubonic Vermin in face-down defense mode."  
  
A cuddly looking hamster was revealed, and by its effect another one was summoned face down. These monsters were pretty weak, but it wasn't their attack or defense that was useful. It was using them for sacrifices. In this case she could keep out another monster, and still sacrifice. "I'll tribute Bubonic Vermin for Jinzo(2400/1400)! Now any traps you have to protect yourself are worthless!"  
  
The android took the field and folded its arms confidently. Despite its power, it just wasn't quite up to par with Hades. A fact that Taichi decided to press home by laughing at her. "In this case Jinzo hurts you more then me. In my next turn I can simply destroy it without fear of any traps because the pathetic thing is weaker then my Dark Ruler Hades. Only an amateur would make a stupid mistake like that!"  
  
Ryu smirked and kicked at the ground in a defiant gesture. "She still has another card in her hand. If she can power her monster up then she can defeat Hades. As long as the two of us work together we can defeat you!"   
  
Hinata's eyes widened as she made the connection with what he had said. Taichi had been right when he said she had made an amateur mistake. She actually hadn't thought about the fact that Jinzo was weaker then Hades. But if Ryu was saying what she thought he was saying then...  
  
"I play the magic card, Movement of the Thieves Guild! This card will allow me to randomly use one card from a player's hand. If it's a monster it gets special summoned to my side of the field, if it's a trap it goes face down, and if it's a magic card it's instantly activated. So I choose to target Ryu!"   
  
Her long time friend grinned and walked to her side, handing her the card. When she saw the truth she returned his grin with a smile of her own, and played the card. Now was her time to shine. "The card Ryu had was indeed a magic card! In fact it was the equip card Eradication Blaster X13, which powers Jinzo up by 500 points!"   
  
Jinzo unfolded his arms and then raised one parallel to his body. With a whir of mechanics it began to change. After several seconds of shifts and alterations his new body part was completed. His right arm now ended in a very high-tech looking blaster. "Jinzo, Eradicate Hades!"  
  
The android aimed its new attachment at Hades, and then let loose a volley of powerful cannon fire. The blast of energy was so powerful that it the recoil shoved Jinzo back a few feet. As the energy raced across the field Hinata could literally see the waves of heat radiating off of the plasma. Hades took the blast full-force in the chest, and exploded without making a sound.   
  
(TLP: 2550) Taichi doubled over for a few seconds, his shoulders twisting about at odd angles, sending his arms wind milling about. After those few seconds were past he shook off the pain and straightened himself, remaining as confident as ever.   
  
"Now that you've taken life point damage, the effet of my new blaster activates. It lets me place an Eradicator token on the field in whatever mode I want. Its stats are equal to the amount of life points that you lose, so I get the first Eradicator token(450/450) in defense mode!"   
  
Jinzo's weapon hissed with the release of a large amount of steam. He pointed the weapon towards the ground beside him, and let off a light blast. Instead of a ball of condensed plasma, the thing that shot from the barrel was a steel shell. It crashed into the ground, and then unfolded into a small mobile weapons platform. Its guns were trained on Taichi.   
  
As soon as it became Taichi's turn the confident psycho placed a card in his hand, giving him a total of two cards. He smirked and took both of his cards and put them in play. "I'll set one card and a monster in defense mode." The two brown-backed cards appeared on the field, looking totally harmless but presenting a possible threat.   
  
"Now I activate Demon Reward, allowing me to draw two cards if I have a demon monster on the field!" The duelist drew two more cards and carefully examined them. He carefully took both and pushed them into his m/t slots. "I'll set a second card face down, and then play a magic card call Burning Attack. One of my monsters may attack directly by reducing its attack by half during this turn. So I'll cut Demon Soldier's(950/1500) attack in half and have it attack Ryu directly!"  
  
The demonic soldier roared at Ryu as it was engulfed by fire. It took off like a rocket right at Ryu, colliding with him and sending him flying several feet back. The fire vanished and Demon Soldier was back in its original form and spot, with its attack strength returned to normal.   
  
Ryu on the other hand wasn't exactly in good shape. The front of his shirt was burned completely off, and light burns covered his chest. His body was also twitching violently as the pain consumed him, driving him nearly off the edge again. However, with Hinata at his side and the power of his gauntlet he was able to persevere. (RLP: 600)   
  
"I'll switch Demon Soldier into defense mode, and end my turn. It won't be long now before this duel comes to an end!"   
  
Ryu coughed and picked himself up, drawing one card as he did so. He grinned and slapped it onto one of his monster zones. "Yeah, comes to an end in our favor that is. You may have me beat when it comes to life points, but Hinata is ahead of you both in field strength and in life points. So all I have to do is back her up with Battle Ox(17000/1000). Go ahead Hinata, finish him off!"  
  
Hinata smirked for the first time in that duel, displaying an arrogance that only those who believe themselves to be better can achieve. In this moment she believed, no she knew, that she was better then Taichi. With Ryu's help she was going to finish off Taichi once and for all, then nobody would have to worry about him.   
  
"I'll flip my Bubonic Vermin to bring out the third and final one. Next I'll tribute my face up Bubonic Vermin and my Eradicator token for my strongest monster. Meet Sword Hunter(2450/1700)!" The monster that she summoned was a warrior who had far too many weapons on his body. Even part of his helmet was a thick dagger. The guy was armed to the teeth, and his effect would only arm him further.   
  
"Jinzo, destroy Demon Soldier!" The android raised its favorite arm and shot a bolt of pure plasma at the demonic entity. Like Hades before it the Demon Soldier was unable to offer any resistance to the sheer power of the futuristic weapon, and was destroyed instantly.   
  
"Sword Hunter, take out his other defense monster!" The weapon hunter drew a few of its many blades and charged at the defense monster, slicing it several times with its swords. The defense monster was slashed apart, but it reappeared moments later. The monster that was revealed was...a tree.   
  
"You've flipped Fiber Jar! His effect will force us to shuffle our hands, fields, and cemetery in with our deck and then draw five cards. But I intend to keep that from happening to me. Activate Protective Pentagram! During this turn no monster or magic effects can affect my side of the field!"   
  
Ryu and Hinata groaned as all their hard work vanished. On the other hand it didn't make sense for Taichi to return to them all the cards he had sent to their cemetery. Not only that, but he left himself with fewer options by using his Protective Pentagram. All he had now was a single face down card, and he'd only have one card in his hand come the next turn. "I'll set two cards face down and end my turn."   
  
Taichi's shoulders shook with mirth as he placed a single card in his hand. He didn't even bother to check what it was, because he didn't need to. The game was over, and he had won.   
  
"I told you earlier that I had no need of Exodia to defeat you. That was indeed the truth. I know that both of you came to the conclusion that I was trying to deck you out, and just now you must have wondered exactly why I undid that work. The answer comes with a card I got in my last Battle City duel. I had gotten all the locator cards I needed and more, but this final duelist, one who had six locator cards of her own, insisted on challenging me. I defeated her and then took this card."  
  
He thrust one hand out in front of him, over his face down card. While Jinzo had been on the field it was useless, but now it was about to win him the duel. Better yet, there was absolutely nothing that these two fools could do about it! "Reveal trap card, Reversed Worlds! At a cost of 1000 life points I can switch each player's cemetery with their deck!"   
  
(TLP: 1550) Taichi's laughter cut through even his own agonized spasms. It took the two duelist and their observer Kensai several seconds before they realized exactly what Taichi had just done. With no cards in their cemetery, and all but five cards intact in their deck, they were forced to place all of those cards in the cemetery. "Go ahead and take your turns. You lose no matter what!"  
  
Ryu hung his head as it became his turn. Unable to draw a card he automatically lost the duel, according to the deck out rule. Moments later Hinata lost by the same rule. Taichi had defeated them. Not with the raw force of Exodia, not with beat down, but with sheer unstoppable strategy. Everything he had done was preparation for that single moment, and they had payed the price for it.   
  
Taichi stood over the two defeated duelists, and knelt down so that he was at their level where they crouched in defeat. The two refused to look him in the eye, knowing what would come soon. He would just have to shake them up a bit. "Well, I think it rightfully should be Ryu who decides, seeing as how he was the one who accepted the duel in the first place."  
  
Both of their heads shot up in surprise. Ryu instantly asked the obvious question, hardly thinking about what sort of response he might get. "What do you mean, I should decide? Decide what?"  
  
Taichi put a hand to his heart as if surprised. He even gasped in shock to make it that much better. Oh how he lived tearing this mortals apart from the inside out. "Why which of you loses their soul of course!"   
  
"Which of us? But we both lost!" Taichi's eyes seared into Ryu's very core of being, and he felt the surge from his gauntlets. In that moment he remembered exactly what Taichi had said about their souls. He remembered, and now he understood.   
  
Taichi grinned and then stood, pointing back and forth between the two duelists. "I see you remembered what I said. It was 'someone' will lose their soul. Meaning only one. Now it will be you who chooses who it is who loses their soul. Shall it be you? Or will it Ms. Donovan?"   
  
He could see the pain in Ryu's eyes, could feel it coming off the boy in waves. How easy this mortals were to manipulate, and how much fun it was to break them. He wondered whether Ryu's breaking point was like Drake's. Drake was a strange one.   
  
Through manipulation Taichi had pushed him passed what he had believed to be Drake's breaking point, but though he broke, it wasn't what Taichi had wanted. Instead Drake become a furious raging demon, instead of a broken mess of a mortal. Would Ryu be the same? "Who will it be? Tick tock tick tock tick tock, the clock is ticking Mr. Shigeru. Decide now or I'll decide for you."  
  
Ryu stood and faced Taichi, fire in his eyes. That fire, when that fire was extinguished Taichi would truly have succeeded in crushing the spirit of such a strong youth. Crushing this boy was more of an accomplishment than crushing Shadi, as he was the tougher of the two. "Mine. Take my soul."  
  
Taichi smiled and raised the blank card that he had waiting. "As you wish." A bright flash of light ripped the purple fog away from them, giving Kensai a clear view into the blinding light. It washed over the entire corridor, blanketing them all in that glorious hellish light. And Hinata's lifeless body hit the ground.   
  
Ryu's eyes whipped over to Hinata and he dropped to his knees. He grabbed her by the shoulders and shook her violently. But no response could be dragged from her. "It was suppose to be me! It was supposed to be me! Never you!"   
  
Ryu Shigeru, a young man of seventeen who had faced worse then many people older then he. A young fighter who had been through gun fights and seen people he cared about mowed down. This young man, Ryu Shigeru, collapsed on the body of the girl he considered his little sister, and he began to sob uncontrollably.   
  
Taichi Nobuki walked passed the sobbing wreck, passed the body he hugged fiercely to his chest, passed the furious Kensai, and towards the dueling ring. He had been right all along. Breaking Ryu Shigeru had been more enjoyable then breaking Shadi. That would make it all the better when the time came to finish him off.   
  
Behind him Ryu's sobbing faded away into a mere echo in the distance.  
  
*********************************************  
  
As soon as Mai and Dalin had exited the arena, the next competitor was already making his way to his place. Shuffling his deck heatedly, Drake Ihachi cast a glance over his shoulder at the younger girl, Autumn Kurai. "Are we gonna do this thing or not? I don't have all day!"  
  
The auburn hair girl rolled her eyes and started shuffling her own deck as she made her way up to stand across from Drake. Once she was satisfied that her deck was well shuffled she slammed it home into her deck holder, and watched as Drake did the same. Then they raised their arms and activated the duel disks. The machines clanked into position and the counters rose. The field projectors activated and the ref stepped forwards.   
  
Raising one arm into the air the ref gave the official announcement. "The final duel of the quarter finals will now commence! Duel!" The two duelists pulled their disks close to their bodies and drew their opening hands. Autumn caught Drake drawing six cards, so realized that he intended to go first. (DLP: 4000, ALP: 4000)  
  
Drake looked down at his six cards and grimaced, not getting as good a hand as he had hoped for. He hadn't seemed to have gotten any of his best cards during all of his Battle City duels. That would have to change if he was going to beat Taichi.   
  
Frustrated he shook his head, getting his hair out of his eyes. In the action of doing so he managed to not notice the faint glow that was pulsing from the disc that hung around his neck. He grabbed two of his cards and played them as quickly as he could, wanting to get the duel done with. "I'll set one card face down and a monster in defense. That's all."  
  
In Autumn's head her two spirits could be heard arguing. They were arguing about Drake, arguing about the darkness that she had felt weeks ago. A few weeks ago she had seen someone who looked vaguely familiar walk by, and they had exuded a strange and powerful darkness. She could feel that same darkness floating off of Drake in waves.   
  
Her spirits wanted to take over, but she knew that this was one duel she had to win on her own. She had to prove to herself that she didn't need them, and she had to beat Drake to knock some sense into him. Hastily she drew her card, and her move was on.   
  
"I'm going to empty my hand in this first turn. I'm going to start off by using a magic card so rare and so powerful that I doubt even Kaiba has one. Anybody who has one of these is lucky beyond belief, and I got mine from some robed freak in my first Battle City duel. Time to meet...Raigeki!"   
  
Drake let out a cry as he was momentarily blinded by the bolt of lightning that pierced through the clouds. It crashed down on his side of the field and his face down monster was blown away in a mere second. Because it was destroyed by a card like that, its effect was useless.   
  
Autumn grinned and plucked another card from her hand and slammed it down on her playing field. "I'll continue my turn and your defeat by summoning Gearfreed the Iron Knight(1800/1600)!" A tall warrior decked out in black armor appeared on the field, menacing Drake with the blade that extended from its right arm. It was a deadly looking monster, but something about it felt wrong to Drake.  
  
"What's someone like you doing with that monster? It doesn't seem like your style." Autumn responded by shrugging her shoulders and giving him a slight smile. Drake could tell by the smile that she was hiding something. Whatever she was hiding couldn't be good.  
  
"I like it that's all. Now I'll continue by setting two cards face down. Now Gearfreed attacks!" The knight hurled itself across the field at Drake's waiting body, its blade pointed straight at Drake's chest. The punk duelist smirked and clenched one fist at his side, clenching so hard that his knuckles started to turn white.  
  
There was a brief flicker of golden light from his item before he put one arm out in front of him as if to ward off Gearfreed's attack. "Activate Waboku!" The robed men appeared on the field and stopped the knight's blade before it could reach Drake. Unable to complete its attack and inflict damage the knight was forced to return to its spot in front of Autumn.  
  
The female duelist took the two remaining cards in her hand and slipped them into her m/t slots, taking up four of the five spaces. If she kept up like that she might end up in a situation similar to the one Dalin had been in during the previous duel. "My first magic card is called Mirage of Nightmare! By its effect during your turn I can draw cards until I have four in my hand!"  
  
Drake shrugged offhandedly and then gestured at the card as it appeared holographically on the field. "But since your hand is empty the second part of Mirage of Nightmare's effect will mean you don't really gain anything. Without any cards in your hand you'll be forced to discard four cards, meaning you'll have lost everything you tried to gain. And I was thinking you were a worthwhile duelist."  
  
As he spoke Autumn's second card appeared on the field. It was a magic card depicting two hands covered in metal, clutching a hand of cards tightly. The indicating label at the bottom told Drake that it was a permanent magic card. As to its effect...he'd have to find out.   
  
"My other magic card fixes the mistakes of Mirage of Nightmare! Its called Hands of Steel, and while its in play no player may discard cards to pay for any card cost! Now I'll get to keep every card I draw each of your turns!" Drake grimaced as he realized the severity of the situation. Already he was stuck in one of her loops! She could use as many cards as she wanted in her turn, because then she'd get them back during his!   
  
He grimaced and drew his next card free, but before he could announce his move Autumn announced hers. He watched as her trap card flipped up and she drew cards from her deck until she had four in her hand. "Drop Off will send the card you just drew to the cemetery!" Drake grinned as it went to the grave, knowing that the card he had just lost was often better off in the cemetery then on the field.   
  
"I'll set one monster in defense mode. Next I'll play a revival card known as Shallow Grave. Normally we could both take back a monster and set it face down, however since you've got no monsters in the cemetery I'm the only one who profits!"   
  
His duel disk ejected the card he wanted from his cemetery, and he placed it face down and sideways on the field next to his other monster. At the moment they were just a wall between Autumn and himself. He needed to get a chance to regroup and get better cards. Otherwise she'd take him apart.   
  
"Draw! Now I'll activate my remaining face down card, a permanent trap known as Twin Toss! Now whenever I must flip a coin for an effect I flip another coin with it, so for any card requiring the flipping of a coin, I've got double the chance of succeeding!" The trap card opened up, revealing two hand's flicking a pair of coins into the air. The appearance of this trap had Drake wondering exactly what she was planning.   
  
"I'll continue my turn with the permanent magic card, Second Coin Toss! Now if I so choose I can negate a coin flip and flip again, negating the previous results. This will give me an even greater chance of success!" Her new magic card shimmered into view, backing up her other card. This new combo obviously had something to do without whatever else she was planning. It probably wasn't good for him.   
  
"My third card for this turn is called Soul Exchange, and it lets me sacrifice one of your monsters in place of mine. So I'll sacrifice the monster on the left and my Gearfreed in order to summon a monster I got from one of my Battle City victories. The mighty machine monster, Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"   
  
Drake grimaced as his Apprenticeship Magician and Gearfreed vanished, only to be replaced by a towering dragon with two long gun barrels extending from its back. There was a loud click as it loaded a round into each chamber of its gun barrels. With her new monster's effect and the combo of coin cards she had set up, she could easily demolish any defenses she set up. His only advantage at the moment was that it couldn't attack this turn. "Go ahead, flip your coins!"  
  
She grinned and started the coins. As Barrel Dragon's three coins were sent hurtling into the air, another set of three came flying out of the Twin Toss card. The first set ended up two tails and a heads. Unfortunately for Drake the other set were all heads...his monster was a goner. The mechanical dragon's barrels flashed as they unloaded a volley of what was essentially cannon fire upon his defense monster, shattering it into pieces. "So what? You've finished off my defense monster, but you still can't attack!"  
  
Yet again she offered him a grin as she held up another card from her hand. She slipped it into an activation slot and then smirked as the dragon started loading its barrels again. The only reason it would be reloading right now was if it was about to attack. "All rules are meant to be broken. I'll break this one with the Quick Attack magic card! Barrel Dragon, blow him away!"   
  
The golden disc that hung from Drake's neck flashed a bright golden color right before the shell fire struck him. A wave of smoke from the explosion covered him, leaving no way to tell what sort of situation he was in. But with no cards face down all watching were certain that the direct attack had been successful.   
  
The smoke faded away, revealing a confident Drake standing there looking unharmed. Most duelists would have been knocked over by the explosive force of the attack, but somehow he was standing, unmoved by Autumn's efforts. "Nice move. Is it over?" Autumn nodded, giving him the go ahead, and he drew his next card. As he did so he saw Autumn replenish her own hand.   
  
(DLP: 1400) Drake grimaced as he looked down at his hand of a measly three cards. So far Autumn's moves had been impressive and highly effective. Already he was down to less then half his initial life points. He had to do something to recover soon, or he'd be finished for sure! He couldn't let her win, only he had the right to face Taichi! "I'll set one card face down, and a monster in defense mode. Go ahead and take your turn, but know that nothing you do can keep me from Taichi!"  
  
Autumn drew her next card, giving her a total of five cards. She started to pick one card from her hand to play when she was cut off by Drake's commanding voice. She looked up from her hand to see him raising his face down card. She saw immediately that it was a trap card, but it was one she didn't recognize.   
  
"Activate Mechanical Magic Mirror! This will let me activate a magic card from your cemetery!" Autumn gasped in shock as the sky above boiled over with dark clouds, revealing exactly what card he was using. She threw a hand up in front of her face to shield her eyes as a bolt of lightning stabbed down from the heavens and shattered her Barrel Dragon into a million pieces. Now her coin combo was useless, and her strongest monster was gone!   
  
"Nice move. Now I'll start this turn by summoning Amazoness Swords Woman(1500/1600). Amazoness, attack his defense monster!" A feral looking woman with long dirty hair appeared on the field, wielding a large sword. She bounded across the field and slashed her weapon down at Drake's defensive monster. It was revealed to be a blue skinned woman wearing a green robe. The amazon's blade was reflected backwards.   
  
(DLP: 900) "What the hell? Why are my life points going down? You're the one who ran face first into my Mystical Elf(800/2000)!" Autumn shrugged her shoulders almost as if she too was confused. She set a card face down before bothering to give him an explanation of any sort.   
  
"Her effect. Whenever she's in battle all damage that would be dealt to my life points are dealt to my opponent's instead. She's perfect for monsters like Mystical Elf. Because the elf's attack isn't worth a thing I can continue to deplete your life points each turn by running my amazon monster headlong into your defenses!"   
  
Drake's body was beginning to shake as he felt the anger bubbling up and being directed at Autumn. She wasn't the source of his anger, but she was getting in his way, and he couldn't stand it! He absolutely refused to have some little girl stand in his way! She was two years younger then him! His sneer turned into a smirk of victory as he took a look at the card he had just drawn. Now he had a chance to regroup. "Pot of Greed!"   
  
He placed two more cards in his hand and his eyes lit up at the sight of one of those cards. It was the counterpart to his deadly magic card, Change of Heart. Now he'd be able to turn this duel around in his favor! "I'll begin by switching Mystical Elf into attack mode. Next I'll summon Skilled Black Magician(1900/1700) in attack mode!"   
  
The deadly black robed spellcaster took its spot next to the holy elf, ready to obey its master's call. It was a powerful monster, and if played correctly it would bring out one of Drake's strongest monsters. "Next I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon on your face down card!"   
  
Autumn grimaced as a gust of wind and small bolt of lightning shattered her face down card. Now she didn't have Wall of Blades trap. If he had attacked while she had it, she would have been able to flip a coin. If she had called it right then his monster would be destroyed and he'd have lost half his life points. But now that chance was gone!   
  
"My next magic card is equally as rare as Raigeki...and I got it when I became a Rare Hunter! Initially I took my position as a Rare Hunter to gather information for Kaiba, however I realized that its benefits are quite great, more then the pathetic dental plan Kaiba offers!" At this everyone through a glance at the CEO who refused to look in their direction.   
  
"I play the magic card, Absolute Power! Using this card I can take control of the effect of one of your magic cards! So now I'll take over Mirage of Nightmares! I'll be the one profiting from your card combo now! Not only that, but Confiscation will give my magician a second magic counter. With that note, Skilled Black Magician attacks!" The mage thrust his staff forward and sent a stream of black magic energies cascading down upon the amazon. Unable to defend herself against the superior attack the female warrior succumbed and was destroyed.   
  
(DLP: 500) "Mystical Elf, attack directly!" The holy elf raised her hands and whispered some sort of mystical chant. A faint glow surrounded her, echoed by the glow that was issuing from Drake's Millennium item. The glow around the elf escalated, and a white blast of magic shot forth and struck Autumn in the chest, forcing her backwards a couple of feet.   
  
(ALP: 3200) Autumn grimaced and drew her next card, hoping for a monster strong enough. Drake had been taking a large risk, getting through her amazon just for a direct attack by the weak Mystical Elf. Doing so had been a risk, but his risk had payed off. Her only monster had no attack strength, but it had a worthwhile effect. Her newest card on the other hand...  
  
'Misuno! We did not have a Mirror Force trap card in our deck! What the hell do you think you're doing? I said this was my duel! Have you been manipulating the cards I've gotten the whole time?'   
  
A faint whisper responded to her in her head, a dry chuckle that grated her nerves. It seemed like AB wasn't able to control Misuno as well as she had hoped. That evil jerk was starting to piss her off! 'Of course. In fact I also manipulated his cards so he'd have a bad hand in the beginning. Unfortunately the kid either got wise or just instinctively used his own magic to negate mine. The kid is strong...much stronger then any I've encountered in a long time. Too strong if you ask me.'  
  
Tossing aside his words she chose to act with what she had. If Drake was using his own magic to stop Misuno, there was nothing saying that he wasn't using his magic to get the cards he needed anyways. If he was stronger then Misuno he might even be manipulating her deck so she wouldn't get a good card. That might be why he so confidently left his elf out in the open. It would also explain how he defeated Kaiba. "I'll set a monster in defense mode and one card. End turn."  
  
She smirked to herself as he drew his next card, giving him five cards in his hand thanks to the effect of her own Mirage of Nightmare. Thanks to her Hands of Steel card he didn't have to discard either. As soon as he attacked he'd get a big surprise. Even if he got past Mirror Force her monster Breaker Wall would shatter his defenses and give him damage as well. Coupled with its high defense it would even deal damage to her opponent if the monster's attack was higher then its defense.   
  
"I play Shot From the Dark, activating a card from my cemetery. Namely Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy your face down card! With that out of the way I sacrifice the three counters and my magician in order to special summon the Dark Magician(2500/2100)!"   
  
Autumn grimaced as her Mirror Force was destroyed, and then moments later the purple robed magician that characterized a spellcaster deck took the Skilled Black Magician's place. What was worse was that its appearance was a special summon, so Drake could still summon this turn. Breaker Wall would hold him off. "Now I sacrifice Mystical Elf for Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!"   
  
The new monster was similar to the Dark Magician, except it was more heavily covered, and its robes were a black color with red trim. Its staff was also black with a glowing red jewel imbedded in it. Autumn sighed, knowing that her estimation was a bit off. "Chaos Magician, attack her defense monster!" A burst of light magic energy shattered her monster. In reply a flurry of shards struck out at Drake. Moments before they could hit him a bright light sprang up from his disc and the shards shattered feet away from him.   
  
(DLP: 400) "Dark Magic Attack!" Autumn cried out as the blast struck her dead on, knocking her backwards and breaking her life points down. Now she was in as bad a shape as Drake, and he had the obvious advantage. How quickly the tides could turn. (ALP: 700) Her opponent didn't smirk, didn't grin, he merely glared daggers at her, his body shaking with anger as he shoved two cards into his m/t slots.   
  
"I'll set these two cards face down. Next I'll play Magical Well, allowing me to place one magic card from my deck and put it in my hand. However I can't activate it during this turn. That'll be it for me you stupid bitch!" Autumn's eyes widened as he cursed at her, his body shaking even more heavily, as if he were going into withdrawal or something like that.   
  
She continued to watch him as she drew, realizing that something was happening to him. Not even Misuno or AB could answer the question as to what was happening to him and why. They were as confused as she was. She didn't have time to waste on checking how everyone else was reacting. She had to duel. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Barrel Dragon(2600/2200)!"  
  
The mechanized dragon appeared on the field and loaded up its cannons. She started to call out for it to activate its effect but before she could Drake beat her to the punch. "Open face down card, Negate Effect! This quick play magic card stops the effect of one monster on the field during this turn. Namely yours!" She groaned as her monster's effect was cut-off before it could get off the ground.   
  
"Fine, Barrel Dragon, attack and destroy Chaos Magician!" The dragon unloaded its cannons on the defenseless wizard, who, unable to stop the attack, was blown into a million pieces. Taking a chunk of what remained of Drake's life points with him. However her joy was put aside as two more monsters appeared in its place, Apprenticeship Magician and Skilled Dark Magician.   
  
"Your destruction of my magician triggers my other quick play magic card, Reward of Necromancy! It allows me to revive monsters from my cemetery whose total levels are equal to or less then the monster you destroyed!" Autumn grimaced as she was forced to end her turn, knowing that Drake had recovered yet again.   
  
The rage that she saw in Drake's eyes as he drew his next card frightened her greatly. Even worse was the surging energies of his disc. She wasn't as good at sensing magical energies as Misuno was, but even she could feel the energy rolling off of Drake in waves, and it was far above anything she could accomplish, even with the help of her two spirits and her item. His power was mind boggling and it just kept growing!   
  
"I play Card in Hand to call a monster from my deck to my hand!" He ejected his deck from its holder and swiftly searched through it before he came to the card he wanted. Then he hastily shuffled his deck and shoved it back into the holder. His actions were impeded by the severe shaking of his hands. His shaking was getting worse as his power grew, meaning that the two were related.   
  
"Now I play the card I got last turn, to revive the monster you forced me to discard in my second turn. I play Monster Reborn!" Autumn's eyes shot as wide as they could go as his next monster appeared on the field. It was a monster she recognized from his duel with Kaiba, the Black Magician of Chaos!   
  
"By its effect I return Monster Reborn to my hand, and now I'll play it to revive Chaos Magician!" The monster Autumn had so recently destroyed reared its head yet again as it was revived from the cemetery, giving Drake a total of five monsters on the field. Drake's power was beginning to reach astronomical levels, and she could now literally feel his anger through her Millennium Staff.   
  
"I sacrifice Skilled Black Magician, Apprenticeship Magician, and Chaos Magician for the Immense Divine Soldier...Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!" He picked up the three named monsters and then slammed his next card on the field as hard as he could. As the god monster started to appear the entire field shook, as Drake's power started pulsing off his body.   
  
The mighty god reared its ugly head, and roared down at Autumn, nearly knocking her off her feet by the sheer power behind that roar. Obelisk had been a well controlled monster when Kaiba had played it, but the rage that infused it from Drake was turning Obelisk into an uncontrollable demon!   
  
Drake raised his arms up to his sides and then squeezed them shut as hard as he could. In response Obelisk reached down and picked up Drake's two monsters and held them up exactly as Drake held his fists. Autumn watched as he squeezed tighter and tighter, watched in horror as the monsters began to cry out in pain. This couldn't be happening....his magic was making this real! "Drake! Why are you doing this? Please don't! You have to stop!"  
  
The infuriated duelist was beyond stopping at this point. The tidal wave of anger and magic that surged through his body had carried him away to a place that was beyond persuasion. On the outside of the arena both Yami and Dalin were focusing their magical energies on the field, but their efforts were like the buzzing of flies to the titanic power that leeched out of Drake's body. Too much power for him to handle.   
  
"You...you don't understand what its like! You didn't have to see those eyes! Didn't have to see them, so blank, once filled with life, those eyes staring up at you just like before! You don't understand! My sister was always an energetic person, even as weak a condition as she was in! But in that moment after she passed this item on to me, in that moment I saw her eyes go blank! She was worse then dead, everything that had made her who she was had been ripped away by some sick bastard who didn't like her breaking up with him!"   
  
Autumn was the one trembling now as blood trickled from the other duelist's hands as he pierced his own skin through the force of his nails on his skin. Above him the bodies of the magicians broke, and blood dripped from the giant god monster's hands, splashing onto the ground below.   
  
"Then it happened again, and again it was some sick bastard who got some sort of fucking pleasure out of it! He enjoyed seeing that look in her eyes don't you understand that? He wanted to see her in that state, wanted to see the life gone from her! He did the same to Shadi, but that was more merciful! At least Shadi got to die! Now that bastard is somewhere here, laughing his head off! And you're standing in my way!"   
  
He swung his arms to the side and the god that was linked to him did the same, sending the corpses of Drake's spellcasters flying into the walls. Once again the god monster roared at her, slowly advancing upon her dragon that now seemed tiny in comparison. Autumn vainly started to gather up all the power she could, ready to defend herself at a moments notice from the juggernaut before her.   
  
"My heart is on fire! I can't even describe the feelings that are ripping me apart inside! You stand between me and my goal, between me and Taichi. And anything in the way of the way for me to quench my burning heart will suffer my wrath! I'll kill anyone who will keep me from quenching my burning heart! And right now...that's you. OBELISK! ATTACK! RIP HER APART!"   
  
The god monster lunged forward, snagging Barrel Dragon in its massive fists. With a mighty twist it ripped the dragon apart, sending a shower of sparks and blood raining down upon Autumn. On the outside the others vainly tried to get in, to stop what was happening. But they couldn't stop it.   
  
(ALP: 0) The duel had been ended, but Obelisk wasn't finished. It reached out for her, its hand uncurling so that it could pick her up and crush her. In that moment she took all the power that she had gathered and unleashed it as a massive barrier against the attack. As she did so she saw the spirit link between Obelisk and Drake. She could break such links with her item, but he was to powerful for that. Slowly Obelisk was pushing past her barrier, and when it reached her she would die.   
  
On the opposite side of the field Drake's body was reaching critical mass. It couldn't handle the huge amounts of magical energies that it was unleashing, and his body spasamed uncontrollably as a release mechanism. It wouldn't take long before Obelisk had killed Autumn, and the energy that Drake was using would kill him in the process as well.   
  
Autumn yelped in surprise as a torrent of magical energies surged through her, buffeting her in its wake. She recognized the textures of the power that Dalin and Yami possessed as they added their magical energies to hers, keeping her safe for a little while longer. But even their combined powers wouldn't hold back Obelisk for much longer.   
  
Drake let out a strangled cry, and then a gurgle as he collapsed face first to the ground, blood welling up in his mouth. His eyes drifted closed and the raging energies that had surged through his body moments earlier dissipated, shattering Obelisk in the process, and keeping Autumn safe. Around him the three exhausted duelists collapsed to their knees, breathing heavily.   
  
The last thing he saw before he lost consciousness was feet quickly approaching the field at a frantic pace. The last thing he heard was a very familiar laugh as a familiar presence entered the room. Then Drake saw and heard no more.   
  
He was lucky that he didn't see Taichi's laughter at the debacle before him. Otherwise he wouldn't have been able to stop the energies that had just nearly killed him from rising up again and turning upon Taichi.   
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: Phew! Got that off my chest. Some of the cards that appeared have not appeared in the CCG yet, not even in Japan. They have however appeared in the anime. Well, read and review!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Taichi: Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet, Demon Catapult, Demon Puppetry, Treasure From Hell, Big Bad Voodoo, Technique for Exorcism, Halt Play, Demon Reward, Burning Attack, Protective Pentagram  
  
Ryu: Breaker Blade, Life Giving Gauntlets, Eradication Blaster X13  
  
Hinata: Movement of the Thieves Guild  
  
Autumn: Hand of Steel, Twin Toss, Wall of Blades, Breaker Wall  
  
Drake: Absolute Power, Shot From the Dark, Magical Well, Negate Effect, Reward of Necromancy, Card in Hand 


	18. Seek No Sanctuary In God

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Chapter Seventeen: Seek No Sanctuary In God  
  
"We seek the meaning of life because we are mortal." -Final Fantasy IX  
  
"There's something more going on here then just what we were thinking. Did you hear what Drake was saying? By the sound of it something similar happened to his sister. Kaiba, any information you could give us would be extremely helpful."   
  
The CEO of Kaiba Corp looked up from his computer at his rival, Yugi Moto. Shortly after the end of the last quarter final duel Kaiba had brought his medical team up. Drake had been moved to the medical wing, and the gang had decided to investigate. The only people not present were Taichi, and Hinata. Kensai and Ryu stood in the back, waiting for their chance to tell them the news. Ryu's face was completely blank.  
  
Kaiba's fingers were a blur as he accessed supposedly secret information, information that was illegal for doctors to give out because it was personal information on a patient. His connections and his computer skills were getting them what they needed to know. After a few minutes of this he stopped and moved his chair back to let the others come closer. "I've brought the information up. Take a look."  
  
The gang crowded around, watching as illegal information scrolled in front of their eyes. Most of it was technical stuff on the girl's condition, but some of it was easier for them to understand...particularly the picture. "She looks a lot like Drake doesn't she?"   
  
The woman that they saw before them, for she was older then any of those present, could have been picked out as Drake's sister by someone with a mental defect. Because the picture was current it seemed rather fake. Her violet eyes, identical in color and shade to Drake's, were open and staring blankly ahead. Her russet brown hair fell past her shoulders, it was naturally wild, though in an attractive way. Even her facial features were similar to Drake's.   
  
Ryu's eyes widened as he got a look at the woman in the picture. He stumbled backwards and let out a cry of surprise. "That's the same girl from before!" The gang turned to him, confused as to what he was saying. None of them but Dalin knew anything about the truth behind the loss of his Blue Eyes, and what had happened after.   
  
"Back before Battle City started, Drake came to me and challenged me to a duel. There was something odd about him the whole time, it was like he was a completely different person." At this Yugi and his friends sent meaningful glances at each other, each of them having quite a bit of experience in situations like that.   
  
"He challenged me to a duel and took me to a place he called the Shadow Realm, and we dueled. He won and took my Blue Eyes, but something happened after the duel. Drake...he...well he split into two different people. I was attacked by a monster she brought to life and knocked unconscious, but I got a good look at her. Add about four years to her and she would have been the mirror image of that girl...Drake's sister."   
  
The entire room burst into discussion on this topic, trying to figure out exactly what the truth was. The tirade of conversation continued for a few minutes, until Kaiba stopped them with his commanding voice. "If that stuff interested you, maybe this will as well."  
  
The gang stopped arguing and moved over to see what was now on the computer. In a separate window from the hospital information was a registered account, that belonged to Drake's sister. Apparently she had her own bank account, and all purchases were filed through it. "According to this file, about a year or so before she went into a coma she and the rest of her family went to Egypt because they won some vacation ticket."   
  
None of the gang could understand exactly how that made sense, as Egypt wasn't exactly a premier vacation spot. Those in the room who understood intrigue a little better, started to realize that somebody had set up the family going to Egypt...but for what reason they didn't know. "They spent an entire week there, and according to the account records she purchased, and I quote, 'A golden disc, ancient Egyptian in origin, cost approximately 25,000 yen.'"  
  
The gang was silent for several moments as they contemplated this, but Kaiba wasn't finished. Going back to the medical information he pulled up the general stuff, including date and time of the inset of her coma. "The information listed here says that she was ushered into the hospital at exactly 7:51 P.M. She was accompanied by a medical team and a young boy who signed into the hospital as Daisuke Ihachi...her brother."  
  
Once again everyone was gathered around Kaiba, staring at the screen as Kaiba continued to pull up information on the mystery girl and exactly what she had to do with Drake's current activities.   
  
"The hospital's records say that she drifted in and out of consciousness for hours on end. It also says that her injuries, head trauma, were most likely caused by a sharp impact. It also says that she suffers from a condition that is sometimes called 'Glass'. It says that her body was very weak, and something that would be minor to most people would be severe in her case. They state that the blow was most likely mild, but her condition made it severe in nature."  
  
A picture of her at her entrance into the hospital showed the same girl from before, about four years younger, on a Gurney with bandages wrapped around her head. A medical team was crowded around her, moving her to a hospital room, and a younger version of Drake followed after, a haunted look in his eyes.   
  
"The hospital submits that it tried to contact the only living relative of the two children, one Tenjiku Ihachi...their mother. When they informed her of what happened apparently she had a mild stroke. Because they were unable to get a response from her a police dispatch was sent. They were the ones who found her unconscious on the floor. She too was rushed to the hospital."   
  
The picture next to his information was that of a middle aged woman, with jet black hair and blue eyes. She didn't even remotely resemble her children, except that her hair had the same wild nature that theirs did.   
  
"The next bit of information is the last part of the general stuff. The hospital states that the only ones present in the room at the time of the girl's loss of activity...when she entered the coma...were a team of doctors and her younger brother. One of the doctors later wrote that she gave her brother the necklace that she had been wearing. She told him something then, but nobody heard it except the boy. They didn't question him on it."  
  
Kaiba searched through the database briefly before coming up with another window. He squinted at it for a second before deciding to show it to the others.   
  
"The only remaining piece of information only came up in the search because its mildly connected with the girl. About four days later a boy was brought into the morgue. Upon investigation it was discovered that he had been dating...guess who...Drake's sister. The family said he had loved the girl dearly and it was deemed suicide. A few of the morgue staff that inspected the boy said that they didn't agree, as the damage that was done to him would have been too difficult for him to perform on himself without passing out before completion. They were overruled by a majority of the rest of the staff."   
  
Upon hearing this the entire gang turned their heads to stare to their left. Separated by a dozen sets of walls was the medical room on the tower, where three people currently rested. One was Kirani, who was in something of a coma of her own, soulless as she was. The next was Rishid, who had been unable to keep active and had passed out from overexertion.   
  
The last was Drake Ihachi, in bed with severe trauma of a mysterious nature. Kaiba's doctors said the damage was healing itself, which was completely impossible. By this time Kaiba had learned that a number of things that should be impossible actually were possible. He had started to believe in magic.   
  
"For now...I say we continue the tournament. Drake won't be waking up for at least a day, and Serenity is in there watching him. If he wakes up early we'll know about it. And we have to continue the tournament."   
  
Dalin and Yugi looked up at each other, and nodded. Worrying over Drake wouldn't get them anywhere. Right now they had a duel they had to run, because only one of them was destined to stop Taichi, and they had to find out who it was.   
  
**********************************************  
  
The two duelists stared at each other as the stood on the dueling field, ready to begin whenever they were given the word. This duel, first of the semi-finals, was still a Battle City duel, and therefore the winner would be walking away with the loser's rarest card. Each of these duelists possessed one of the three Egyptian god cards, and that meant the winner would walk away with two.   
  
(DLP: 4000, YLP: 4000) Dalin grinned as he drew his opening hand, watching Yami do the same thing. Then Dalin drew a sixth card and surveyed his hand. He looked over it and started to make his plan. With the cards he had he'd be able to get a distinct advantage over Yami quite quickly, as long as he made sure Yami fell into his trap.   
  
"I'll begin by setting one monster in defense mode. I'll finish up by placing a single card face down. Now let's see what you can do Yami. Do you have what it takes to defeat me? A better question...could you do it without Osiris?"  
  
Yami grimaced and added a sixth card into his hand. He had several useful cards in his hand, enough to get a strong monster onto the field in his first turn. From what he had seen of Dalin's duels, increasing life points was his focus, so he'd have to finish off Dalin's life points as fast as he could.   
  
"I'll star this duel by playing Polymerization! This fuses Gazelle the King of Mythical Beasts and Baffomet from my hand to create Winged Beast Chimera(2100/1800)!" The first monster appeared and was revealed to be a two headed monster with wings extending from its back. It certainly looked dangerous, but as a fusion monster it couldn't attack in the first turn.  
  
"Now I'll continue by playing the magic card, Quick Attack! With this Chimera can attack this turn! Go Chimera!" The beast took flight and smashed Dalin's monster apart with a two-headed skull bash. The particles from Dalin's monster faded leaving only Dalin's laughter.   
  
"I now give you two things to worry about. The first is the trap card Solemn Wishes, which will increase my life points by 500 every time I draw. The second is that the monster you just destroyed is the rare and deadly Goddess of Balance! When it would be destroyed in battle it is instead removed from the game!"   
  
Yami grimaced as he watched a holographic image of a beautiful brown-haired woman with a golden aura around her appear above them both. Three sets of golden wings extended from her back, and dangling from her hand was a large set of balancing scales. "What does she do?"  
  
Dalin grinned as the goddess hovered above them, giving him an advantage that Yami knew nothing about. "When she is removed from play I can select one of several abilities. I've already selected the ability that she will use...you'll just have to wait to find out what it is."  
  
Yami grimaced and took one of his two remaining cards, setting it on the field before he ended his turn. The moment Dalin drew the duelist would be getting a five hundred point lead, and in each of his turns he'd be able to keep up that boost. "Draw!" (DLP: 4500)  
  
The muscular duelist grinned and selected a card from his hand. With five cards in his hand he had more options then Yami did with only one. Based on the way he was grinning his previous turn had only played out that way because he wanted Yami to attack. "Next turn will be when I unveil my key card! The card that will make it impossible for you to win this duel! To do so I play Angelic Choir! This card allows me to discard one card from my hand in order to place one card from my deck into my hand that relates to angels in some way. So here I go!"  
  
A chord was struck and dozens of majestic voices sang out from all around them. Even the goddess above them joined in briefly as Dalin sent a card from his hand to the grave, and then ejected his deck from its holder. It didn't take him long to find the card that he wanted, and he placed it in his hand. "Of course, this turn I can't use the card. So I'll set up one card, and summon Holy Shine Sphere(500/500) in defense mode!"  
  
A single brown backed card appeared behind a floating purple sphere with minimal stats. Despite its appearance, Yami was fairly certain that the monster was an angel sub-type. If he could get another monster in this turn he could get through for a direct attack. Dalin would restore only a fraction of his life points next turn, so Yami would take the lead. "First I draw!"  
  
"I shall do so as well." Yami's eyes widened in surprise as the goddess above them tilted its scales first from one side, then to the other, and finally letting them balance out. He also watched as Dalin drew a new card, increasing his life points by yet another set of five hundred. (DLP: 5000) "Thus is the effect that I chose! Now I draw one card each turn, one in mine, and one in yours! At this rate my life points will leave you in the dust!"   
  
Yami grimaced and then looked down for the first time, to see exactly what card he had drawn. His look of despair turned to one of triumph as he saw the background color. It was a monster! "I summon Queen's Knight(1500/1600) in attack mode!"   
  
Yami's new monster was a blonde woman wearing red armor and wielding a sword. Dalin knew all about the Tri-Knights. Though why Yami would have such a thing in his deck was a mystery to Dalin. "Now, Queen's Knight, attack his Holy Shine Sphere!"  
  
The warrior woman charged forward and with a quick swipe of her sword split the sphere into two pieces. Each piece spun in the air for a few seconds before exploding into dust. "Chimera, attack Dalin directly!"   
  
The winged beast took off after Dalin, but in moment it struck a shield that sent a massive barrier of blue energy up around it. "Activate Drain Shield! This trap card will negate your attack and increase my life points by the amount of attack points your Chimera has!" Yami gasped as Dalin's life points took a serious turn for the better, as energy flowed into him through the shield that had deflected his beast's attack. (DLP: 7100)  
  
(DLP: 7600) Dalin added his next card into his hand, bringing the total cards in his hand back up to four. He grinned as he selected a card from his hand and placed it on the field in one of his monster zones. "I summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode, and pay 1000 life points to special summon the two remaining Holy Shine Spheres(500/500 X2)!"   
  
The blond angel appeared and stretched its wings out as far as they would go. Two of the remaining spheres that normally floated around it zoomed forwards, coming to rest in front of them. Now Dalin had a total of three monsters on the field. "It is time Pharaoh, time for me to reveal to you the key card of this duel. The key card of my deck that will make it impossible for you to achieve victory!"   
  
Yami's eyes shot across the field, at each of the three monsters that Dalin possessed. He had already summoned this turn, but if he had some other way of continuing to summon then that would mean...Dalin's key card, the card he was so adamant about bringing out...was Ra! "Now I play the field magic card, Sanctuary of the Sky!"   
  
Behind Dalin rose a massive temple set upon the clouds. Yami watched as angels of various sorts flitted in and out of this sanctuary. But what effect of the sanctuary would have that made it Dalin's key card...that he had yet to determine. "I will play Magic Guard on my sanctuary, which states that will keep my card from being destroyed. Now, Venus attacks Queen's Knight!"  
  
The angelic woman raised her arms and fired off a burst of pure light. However before it could reach its intended target Yami acted to protect his monster. "Activate Magical Pigeons! This card will protect my monster from attack during this turn!" The blast of celestial light crashed into a top hat that appeared to cover Queen's Knight. The blast punched right through the hat, but instead of the knight being harmed, a bunch of pigeons flew out, and the knight was seen standing a few feet away. "Fine then, end turn."  
  
Yami grimaced as both he and Dalin drew a card, thanks to Goddess of Balance. As long as that monster remained out of play he was at a distinct disadvantage, but there was no way for him to stop it. (DLP: 7100) "Now I summon King's Knight(1600/1500) and by its effect I can now special summon Jack's Knight(1900/1400)!"   
  
The first new monster was a bearded man in orange armor wielding a stout broad sword. The second was a younger man in blue armor wielding a longer sword. The three monsters were assembled. They were the Tri-Knights. Monsters who worked together to get each other onto the field. However they wouldn't help Yami at all. "King and Queen, attack the two spheres! Jack, destroy Venus! Then finally Chimera will attack your directly!" His four monsters rushed forward to attack Dalin's monsters. Once this move was completed he would have reduced Dalin's life points to a mere 2600, giving himself the lead.   
  
Before each attack struck, a small barrier of light appeared in front of the monsters. The blades of the Tri-Knights collided with these barriers and bounced backwards. Chimera made a vain attempt to get past the monsters, but a barrier sprang up and threw it backwards. "This duel, its too much for you! The effect of my sanctuary means that in battle all battle damage to my angels becomes 0! Not only can you no longer destroy my angels, but you can't cause me any damage through an attack against them either! It's the ultimate angel weapon, and the key card to my deck!"   
  
Dalin drew his next card and smiled as he watched his life points raise yet again, reaching heights beyond what Yami could manage to defeat. Soon even the gods would be unable to stop him in this duel. Yami didn't have much longer before his defeat, and that same defeat was knocking at his door with the appearance of Dalin's key card. "You're lucky Pharaoh, for this next monster is no angel. Watch as I sacrifice one of my two Holy Shine Sphere's for Emperor Jabolug, the Thunder Warrior(2400/1000)! And when he is tribute summoned I can destroy one monster on the field...your Chimera!"   
  
One of the two spheres shattered into holographic dust, and in its place appeared a fearsome monster. The monster was large in every dimension, standing at least seven feet tall. He was outfitted in silver armor with massive ribbed shoulder pads. Some kind of yellow spikes appeared behind his back, and power crackled around him. The warrior let out a cry of fury and unleashed a blast of lightning at Chimera, shattering it into many pieces.   
  
"Emperor Jabolug, destroy Queen's Knight!" The warrior grunted in response and raised its arms above its head. Energy crackled above it in the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot down to collide with the spikes on its back. Yami suddenly realized that they were power collectors of some sort. Then the warrior extended his arms and sent a streak of lightning at the blond woman, blasting her into pieces. (YLP: 3100) "Now I set up one card and end my turn."  
  
Yami watched as the situation continue to get worse as he drew and Dalin's life points increased. (DLP: 8100) The gap between the two of them was steadily increasing, and he had to find a way to finish Dalin off quickly. "This may not seem like a good idea, but I need time to regroup. So I'll switch my two monsters into defense mode, and then play Swords of Revealing Light!"   
  
Dalin watched calmly as the swords rained down around his monsters, trapping them. He drew his own card and then smirked, knowing that the Pharaoh's situation was about to worsen. (DLP: 8600) "An excellent stall technique Pharaoh, however it will do you no good. I shall now activate Light of Judgement! By discarding one light-type monster from my hand, in this case Atomic Firefly, I can send one card from your field or your hand to the cemetery. So say goodbye to the Swords of Revealing Light!"   
  
Yami gasped in shock as his entire plan went down the drain, his last defense gone. With three monsters Dalin would soon be able to cut through to his life points. If he summoned another monster in this turn then the damage would be worse. "I will send Venus and Jabolug to destroy your monsters, and then Holy Shine Sphere will attack directly!"   
  
Two blasts of energy, one lightning and the other light, shot from the two monsters and crashed into Yami's monsters. The two knights had no chance to fight back before they were destroyed by the superior strength of Dalin's monsters. Then the little sphere zipped forward and collided with Yami, knocking him backwards. (YLP: 2600)   
  
Yami's vision blurred momentarily from the impact, and he was forced to shake his head to clear it. When his vision cleared he saw Dalin standing across from him, duel disk raised up parallel to his chest and one card held in his right hand, separate from his other card. "It is fitting isn't it Pharaoh. Fitting that I should have a goddess above the field...and a god on the field. It balances things out. So watch as I bring this duel one step closer to the end by sacrificing my three monsters in order to summon the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(4500/1500)!"   
  
The golden dragon roared as it appeared on the field, darkening the sky above with its appearance. Now Dalin's advantage was complete. He had constantly replenishing life points, the strongest of the god monsters, and the ability to draw a card every turn. There didn't seem to be any options left to Yami...even Osiris couldn't help him now, for he had no way to summon it. "Just you wait Dalin, I'll find a way to win! If its necessary I can even use Osiris to defeat you!"  
  
Dalin's laughter cut through his false bravado and forced him back into reality. There was no way to summon Osiris, and no way to win. "Don't be a naive fool Pharaoh. In this duel you can seek no sanctuary in god. There is no sanctuary for you!" Thunder crashed to punctuate his words, and all hope for Yami was lost.  
  
********************************  
  
The world was a strange place. One moment he was playing games with his sister, games ranging from Uno to Monopoly, and the next he was watching a young girl cower in fear beneath the outstretched hands of a enormous monster. Somewhere in his mind he was aware that these two events had only a little bit to do with each other, but the rest of him was confused.   
  
His mind stretched out before him like a vast sea. All around him swam bubbles of light, and he quickly learned that within these bubbles were his memories. Some good ones, but all to often the memories that he encountered were unpleasant.   
  
A sudden sensation ripped him away from that sea of bubbles, the sea of his memories. He was moving away from them, towards the air above. It registered in his mind that the sensation he had felt that had pulled him away from the memory sea was a cool and soft reassuring touch upon his forehead.   
  
Blinking weariness from his eyes Drake Ihachi awoke, and focused on the girl who sat at the edge of the bed he was sleeping on. It took several moments before he was able to connect the face with a real person, and not merely some phantom. He was no longer in a sea of memory, he was now truly awake. "Serenity?"   
  
The younger girl nodded and gave him a small smile. Had he been more fully aware he would have realized that a tinge of pink was coloring her cheeks, embarrassed that her own actions had woken the sleeping boy. "You've been asleep for a couple of hours now. Everybody else is watching Dalin and Yugi duel right now, but I decided that I would look after everyone here while they were doing that."  
  
He blinked and started to roll over. However he discovered to his surprise that he was unable to move his body below the waist, so all he was able to accomplish was to twist his upper body to the side, and nearly fall out of the bed. He groaned and sat up, facing the younger girl. "What happened? What exactly is going on?"   
  
The younger girl blushed and looked away, her eyes coming to rest on a chair across the room. Drake turned his gaze to the chair and realized why she was blushing. Resting on that chair was his clothing, and when he had sat up the sheet had fallen to his waist. He grimaced and looked down in embarrassment. "Serenity...I don't want to impose but...could you get my shirt for me? I can't exactly get up at the moment."   
  
Serenity nodded and went over the chair. She grabbed the shirt and tossed it to him, looking away while he put it on. Finally she returned to the bed and sat down on it, and looked him in the eye. "What happened...you relived some bad memories, and your anger got the better of you. Dalin thinks that the power of your item accelerated your emotions, making them worse then ever. He said it's power has something to do with emotion, but I never heard exactly what. And...you nearly hurt Autumn...but she's fine. Dalin said you drained yourself using as much power as you did, so your body was pretty wrecked. He said since it was magical the injuries will heal themselves in time."  
  
Drake grimaced and looked down, ashamed of his own actions. He could barely remember what had happened, but it had felt like he had become another person entirely. The entire thing didn't feel right in his mind, like it was a fuzzy picture that he had watched from somewhere else.   
  
He stopped his musings as he noticed the object in Serenity's hand. It was a deck of Duel Monsters cards. "You're Joey's sister...and as good a duelist as he is I bet you're really good too. Could I see your deck?"   
  
She blushed and shook her held, but held the deck out to him anyways. "I've never dueled before, and I didn't even really know any of the basics until recently when Tristan started teaching me. Its your deck." Drake took his deck from her and stared at it for a few moments, before deciding that he had to get bad memories out of his mind.   
  
"Do you want me to teach you more of how to play Duel Monsters? I don't know if I'm as good as your brother, but I do know that I've been payed to teach people how to play for quite some time now, so I figure I can do a good job. What do you say?"   
  
The young girl smiled, practically lighting up the entire room in doing so. It was a smile that reminded him of Kirani, for it was far to similar to hers to not remind him of her. "Okay. Well, the first thing I've got to teach you about are the three basic types of cards. Monster, magic, and trap. Each of these is split into different types. Effect monsters, ritual monsters, fusion monsters, normal monsters. Then you've got normal magic cards, permanent magic, and quick-play magic. Last are the traps, normal traps, counter traps, and permanent traps. I'll start by explaining each of the different monster groups."  
  
****************************************  
  
Deep within his own mind, Taichi Nobuki was having a chat with a certain dark spirit. At the moment Yami Malik and he were having a discussion about methods of torture, a conversation they both found pleasant and relaxing. Taichi was happy to have met this dark spirit, because he was Taichi's kind of scum. He was pretty sick minded for a mortal, but then again the sick mind he had developed had come from all the sickest and most depraved minds in mankind's history.   
  
His thoughts were interrupted by cold laughter ringing through the walls of his mind. The dark spirit rose to greet their visitor, a fierce looking white haired man. Of course, it had to be the thief didn't it? "How are you here? You were banished to the Shadow Realm, never to return!"  
  
The Thief King smirked and stepped up in front of them, item glowing as he gathered its power to do whatever he intended to do. "I said then that I am the darkness, you can't expect me to be defeated by such a paltry trick as banishing one to the Shadow Realm? Ha! But now I'm here to stop the two of you from ruining everything."  
  
The two other men gave the thief confused looks, and Taichi rose to discover exactly what this man intended. "What is it that you mean? I could have sworn you considered yourself to be one of us 'bad guys'. Are you upset about being left out of the evil club? We could give you a spot if you were nice and begged us to give you one."   
  
The thief snarled and extended his left arm, activating his duel disk. He thrust his deck into the slot and his counter rose to 4000. "I talk big all the time. It's the nature of people like us to talk big, just like you were doing a moment ago. But while I talk big, you plan far too big. I may desire power but you two are simply insane! Your current course of actions will lead to the destruction of all things, including yourselves. I wouldn't normally interfere with another so-called 'evil plan', but in this case you plan would end up with me dead, so I intend to stop you!"  
  
Taichi smirked and allowed a duel disk to appear on his own arm. He inserted his deck and activated it, extending it into full position. His life points also counted up to 4000, meaning that both of them were ready to duel. "I respect your opinion Bakura, and while normally I'd be willing to spend time breaking a strong spirit such as yours, I'm not particularly in the mood. There are things I'd rather be doing then playing with upstart thieves with delusions of grandeur! So lets make this quick!"   
  
The thief king smirked and drew his opening hand. "You read my mind! I'll start this duel off by setting two cards face down, and then summoning Headless Knight(1450/1700) in attack mode! Now I will play Occult Rule Breaker! At a cost of 1000 life points I can break a rule of the game in this turn. So I will choose to break the first turn attack rule! Headless Knight, attack him directly!"   
  
Two brown-backed cards appeared in front of Bakura, followed by an armored knight whose armor stopped at the neck, leaving only empty space above it. Soon after it hit the field it charged forward and slashed Taichi across the arm, cutting deep into the flesh and letting blood flow freely from it. (TLP: 2550, BLP: 3000) Bakura let out a harsh lash as he saw the damage that he had caused in the first turn, and passed his turn to Taichi. "The first turn and already the damage you have taken might prove critical! Within your mind the damage will be all too real, and I can crush you with paltry ease!"  
  
Now it was Taichi's turn to laugh, as the blood faded and the wound vanished. "You fool! You said yourself that this is my mind. Things are only as real as I allow them to be in here, and false wounds like this are mere trifles for my mind to banish!" Bakura grimaced at seeing his supposed advantage fall apart. Now he'd have to find another way to win.   
  
"You know Bakura, our decks are actually rather similar. Your have an occult theme, and I have a more advanced form of the same. While you rely on the pathetic tricks of an occult deck, I destroy those strategies, making sure you can accomplish nothing! To do so I'll play Death Dealing Potion, a magic card that will allow me to send cards from your deck equal to however many increments of 100 I pay from my life points! So I pay 2500 life points to send the first twenty-five cards from your deck to the cemetery!"  
  
(TLP: 50) Bakura gasped as he thumbed through until he had picked up the top twenty-five cards and then shoved them into his cemetery slot. Already one of his stategies had been ruined, for all but two of his copies of the pieces for his Ouija Board had been sent to the grave. Now his face down Ouija Board trap card was useless! "That furious look on your face tells me that I did some serious damage to whatever occult strategies you might have depended on. Now I'll continue my turn by using a favorite of mine, Demon Puppetry! Your headless knight is occult, but it's a zombie and not a demon, so I can now summon King Goblin(0/0)!"  
  
Bakura laughed hysterically as a small green goblin wearing a crown appeared, seated upon a throne. Behind it swarmed a vast number of demons, who seemed to stay behind the little creature merely on its own orders. "What can that thing do? Its got no attack strength whatsoever!"  
  
"You shall see, as I play two more cards. The first is Demon Soldier(1900/1500)! The second is a magic card called Demonic Revival Ritual, which lets both of us special summon a demon monster from the cemetery, whoever's cemetery they exist in. I select Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600) that you were forced to send to your cemetery!"   
  
The demon appeared beside the demonic soldier and the little goblin, making a total of three monsters for Taichi's side. Bakura on the other hand only hand one essentially weak monster. "I'll special summon from my cemetery my strongest monster, Despair From the Darkness(2800/3000)!" Bakura's monster rose onto the field, a monster of pure darkness, its true form hidden within.   
  
Taichi grinned as he placed his remaining card face down. Then he started to explain. "You're lucky that your demon monster is as strong as it is, but unlucky that it isn't strong enough! My King Goblin has the ability that when I have other demons on the field, it can't be attacked. But its true strength comes from its attack power. For every demon on the field other then itself it gains 1000 points, raising its attack to 3000! So go my monsters, attack and destroy!"   
  
Bakura snarled as King Goblin dispatched one of its many demons to claw apart his Despair From the Darkness. Then the Demon Soldier unsheathed its sword and sliced his Headless Knight into pieces. Then Hades moved in for the kill, with an attack that would reduce Bakura's life points to zero. "Activate Sakuretsu Armor! This will destroy your attacking monster!"   
  
Hades shattered, leaving Bakura safe for at least one more turn. All he had to do was get out a stronger monster then Demon Soldier and he'd have the duel won. Taichi may have destroyed most of his deck, but he hadn't gotten rid of all his cards. It was foolish to reduce one's life points to such a small portion when victory wasn't guaranteed. (BLP: 2350) Now King Goblin was reduced to 1000 attack points.   
  
"In destroying half of my deck you managed to defeat one of my key combos. However in doing so you also gave me the key to defeating you. Since you sent so many of my monsters to the graveyard, you piled up the monsters for me to use to summon this next monster. I summon Dark Necrophia(2200/2800) in attack mode!"   
  
The blue skinned demon woman appeared on the field, menacing in all its occult glory. It was one of the key cards to Bakura's deck, and its 2200 attack strength was more then enough to destroy Demon Soldier and reduce Taichi's life points to zero. Who would have thought that he, the Thief King, would be the one to save the world? "Dark Necrophia, destroy Demon Soldier and the rest of Taichi's life points!"  
  
"Activate Dark Wall of Air! This card will keep me from being attacked for one whole turn!" The occult monster was stopped as a whirlwind of black air surged up around Taichi, keeping him from harm.   
  
"Fine! I'll set one card face down and end my turn!" His chance to win gone! Now he had to hope that Taichi didn't find a way to come back and win this duel. His newest face down card could help him stay safe for this turn, and at the moment Taichi wouldn't dare to destroy his Dark Necrophia, for then he would gain control of one of Taichi's own monsters.  
  
"You know Bakura, your thieving ways have shown me something. That greed can be a useful trait! Activate Pot of Greed!" Taichi displayed the magic card with its green faced pot, and slipped it into his cemetery as he drew two new cards into his hand, giving him more options.   
  
"Upstart thief...I don't think I mentioned that when a demon monster revived one my side of the field by Demonic Revival Ritual is destroyed, it goes to my cemetery. Which of course is perfect for this next monster. By removing one dark main-type monster in my cemetery from the game I can special summon Spirit of Darkness(1600/1200)!"   
  
The new monster was similar to Despair From the Darkness. It had a vague shape that was hidden by a surrounding fog of darkness, making it, in a manner of speaking, the embodiment of darkness. "One of the my new demon's effects is that if I special summon him I can destroy one magic or trap card on the field!"   
  
Bakura grimaced as his face down Bark of Dark Ruler was destroying, giving him no way to stop Taichi in this turn. He could still count on the special effect of his Dark Necrophia, but Taichi's other card might be a counter. In fact, his card might be Exodia!   
  
"I bet you're wondering if the reason I special summoned Spirit of Darkness was just to destroy your face down card, or if it was to increase my sacrifice options. I bet you think I'm going to summon Exodia to defeat you. But no...that wouldn't be fair to use Exodia's power on a wasted upstart like you. Instead I've got a better plan in mind. The magic card, To Dispel The Illusions Of The Mind's Eye! At a cost of half of my life points (TLP: 25) I can remove any of my opponent's face up monsters from the game!"   
  
Bakura dropped his remaining card to the ground as a shroud of darkness wrapped around his occult monster, and then vanished. When the shroud was gone, so was his prized monster. Worse, since it hadn't been destroyed its effect wouldn't activate, and now he was completely open for attack. "Demon Soldier(1900/1500), King Goblin(2000/2000), Spirit of Darkness(1600/1200), destroy this pathetic upstart once and for all!"   
  
And once more, Bakura knew defeat and despair. (BLP: 0) The last thing he heard before the force of Taichi's power struck him was the hideous laughter of his two foes, and the dreadful knowledge that he would live to see the end of the entire universe. 'Well,' he thought, 'At least I'll probably outlive the Pharaoh.'  
  
*********************************  
  
"Yugi! Don't give up, no matter what! You said yourself that you've got a destiny to win, and you worked too hard to get here just to give up now. So don't stop until one of you hits zero!" Yami looked over at his friend, Joey, and responded with a thumbs up.   
  
He had been being foolish. Joey was right, he had gone through so many trials and tribulations to get to this point in the tournament, and if he won this duel he'd go on to face his destiny, in order to defeat the evil that threatened the planet. Joey had taught him a very important lesson in their duel, and he wouldn't let that lesson go to waste.   
  
"Sumatin, in my duel with Joey I learned a valuable lesson. I learned that destiny isn't something that can be fulfilled by simply hoping. Instead you must never give up, and always put forth your full strength into the desire to fulfill that destiny. So now I shall draw and show you what I can accomplish when I put my strength into fulfilling my destiny!"  
  
(DLP: 9100) "I shall now play, Card of Sanctity!" Dalin grinned as the two duelists started drawing cards into their hands until each player held six cards. Yugi drew five cards and Dalin drew four of them. However because of Solemn Wishes the move merely helped to strengthen Dalin. (DLP: 9600)  
  
"Certainly you gave yourself more options, but in doing so you've given me those options and provided me with an extra boost to my life points. Furthermore, there is no way for you to defeat Ra as you are, no matter what cards you drew. At this very moment I could, if I so wished, increase Ra's attack strength to over fourteen thousand, and with its immunities it becomes even deadlier. If you wish to win, show me what the strength of your destiny can accomplish!"  
  
Yami closed his eyes and focused his mind upon his cards. He had yet to look at them, and knew that if he was going to succeed in this duel he had to get the right cards. He couldn't lose, not as determined as he was! "Sumatin, prepare yourself to witness the truth of my destiny! Soon it will be you who can seek no sanctuary in your god, for within three more turns Ra shall fall! Now, I shall begin my plan by activating, Necromancy!"  
  
Dalin watched in shock as Venus(0/0), and two Holy Shine Spheres(0/0) appeared on Yami's side of the field, each of them in defense mode. "What's going on? How did you get my monsters?"   
  
Yami smirked as he plucked another card from his hand of five cards. "Necromancy allows me to up to three random monsters from your cemetery. Unfortunately each of them is forced into permanent defense mode and their stats reduce to zero. But it makes the perfect card to unleash my greatest strength. Watch and learn the truth of destiny as I sacrifice these three monsters to unleash the Saint Dragon Osiris(4000/4000)!"  
  
Everyone watched in awe as for the third time during this tournament the skies darkened, and the massive beast that was Osiris descended from clouds. Its long red body coiled about the field, looping several times as it prepared itself to strike. Finally it came to rest with its head hovering above Yami, facing towards the large figure that was the Winged Dragon of Ra.   
  
"What kind of move is that? Ra remains more powerful than Osiris, and with traps unable to effect the god cards you won't be able to protect your monster. Next turn I shall wipe it off the field!" Yami smirked at this and slipped another card from his hand, and slid it into his duel disk.   
  
"Perhaps that is so. But I'll take my chances with Ra as soon as I set this single card face down. Now go ahead and draw whatever card you'd like, for it will do you no good. My destiny will be the end of Ra in three more turns!"   
  
(DLP: 10100) Dalin glanced down at his hand which was now a total of seven cards. With Osiris on the field his options were cut down, as he would be unable to summon a monster without the dragon-god destroying it. The immunities that Ra possessed applied to Osiris, so he couldn't do anything against it that way. Furthermore, if he kept all his cards in his hand he'd be forced to discard a card at the end of the turn, so he had to set at least one card. "I shall begin by setting a single card face down."   
  
The brown-backed card appeared on the field, dwarfed by the massive shapes of the two god monsters. Dalin was certain now, for some odd reason, that it wasn't the god cards that would determine this duel, but he would do his best to see that Osiris fell before the power of Ra before this duel was over. "Now I intend to defeat Osiris with one attack! So go...God's Breath Cannon!"  
  
The massive golden dragon opened its beak as wide as it would go, gathering the tremendous energies that it possessed into that one point. A golden fire was brewing within its mouth, a fire that when released would consume its deadly opponent, the representative of the Lord of the Dead. With one final swing of fate the other god would fall before Ra's might.   
  
The golden fire surged forth from Ra's mouth at a blinding speed. It was on an intercept course with Osiris which, despite its high attack power, would be unable to fend off the blast. Everyone watching shielded their eyes as the blast connected, sending a shower of golden light dancing across the field.   
  
"Sorry Sumatin, but as I said before, it will be Ra who falls. Traps may be unable to effect the gods, but the card I activated doesn't effect either god, it effects battle damage. The trap card known as Waboku turns the battle damage to zero!" Dalin grimaced as his attack was staved off by a group of robed men whose chanting stopped the attack, protecting Osiris for another turn. Now Yami would have another chance to bring about his prediction, something Dalin couldn't allow.   
  
"Draw!" (DLP: 10600) Yami smirked as he lifted the card he had just drawn, displaying it to his opponent. It was a magic card with a green pot with a face on it, and everyone knew what that was. "Pot of Greed allows me to draw two more cards, and with them Osiris' attack strength jumps to five thousand! But I won't stop there, I will use the two cards I just drew, one of them right this minute!"   
  
Everyone watched as Yami took one of the two cards he had gotten through the Pot of Greed's effect and slipped it into a magic/trap slot. He pressed the activation button as soon as it was played and the card appeared on the field. The image on the card was of a man being offered up in a sacrifice, and erupting from his prostrate body was a green energy that surged around the man who had sacrificed him.   
  
"The magic card, Sacrifice Maneuver! At a cost of a mere one thousand life points I can have one of my monsters on the field attack my opponent directly during this turn. So prepare to feel the horror! Osiris, Thunder Force Attack!" The red dragon opened its top mouth and a stream of purple energy rushed out, bypassing the other god monster completely and colliding with Dalin's chest, hurling him backwards a few feet.   
  
(DLP: 6600) "Now I will set a single card face down, and end my turn." Yami watched as his opponent struggled to his feet. The other duelist shook his head to clear it and then drew a new card into his hand, giving him a total of eight cards. Now was the time. Now was the moment of destiny! This was the fated third turn that he had predicted, and if he was right then in this turn Ra would be no more! (YLP: 1600)  
  
(DLP: 7100) "This is the turn you predicted. Now we will all get a chance to see if that prediction was a correct one. When we do find out everyone will see exactly what destiny has in mind, and in the end victory will be clear to whoever's prediction is correct! And my prediction as that with this next attack Osiris will meet its end. So now let's find out who is right and who is doomed! God's Breath Cannon!"   
  
Ra opened its beak and unleashed its torrential energies upon Osiris, thousands if not millions of ergs of power rushing forward with one goal in mind. The utter destruction of the Saint Dragon Osiris. In response the saint dragon opened its top mouth and sent thousand if not millions of ergs of power rushing towards the other god's attack. And with tremendous power the two attacks collided, pushing against each other in a battle for supremacy.   
  
The two duelists watched, focused as they could possibly be as the two titans pushed back and forth against each other, first one monster winning, and then the next. But both of them knew, as did everyone watching, that this struggle was merely one put one as a display. Academically they knew that with a fifteen hundred attack point advantage Ra would be able to finish off Osiris.   
  
"Now the moment of destiny! Activate Careless Avarice!" Dalin's triumphant grin was stricken from his face as his opponent added two more cards to his hand, boosting Osiris' attack strength by two thousand, making it reach a level higher then Ra's. What was worse was that Ra could not increase its attack strength after it had attacked, so Ra would be destroyed.  
  
"I refuse to allow Ra to fall and for you to maintain Osiris! If Ra is to be destroyed, then let both monsters be destroyed! I activate the special effect of Winged Dragon of Ra, an ability known as God Phoenix!" The massive energies that Osiris was pouring forth were pushing Ra's energies backwards, and now that stream of power was meters away from striking Ra and destroying it. But Dalin's command would change that.   
  
(DLP: 6100) Right in front of everyone's eyes the mighty golden god monster exploded into a shower of flames, becoming a massive burning phoenix. To Yami's horror that phoenix rose up and over Osiris' attack, and raced down upon the red god. He threw his arms up to shield himself from the light and the fire as the phoenix that was Ra struck Osiris head on, and began to incinerate it.   
  
For nearly a minute the mighty god struggled against the flames, trying to free itself from certain doom. But survival was not the fate of the Egyptian god monster, it was time for the representative of the Lord of the Dead to go to the land of the dead, but it would not go alone.   
  
Finally the flames died down and neither god could be seen. By becoming the God Phoenix Ra had been able to destroy Osiris at a cost of one thousand of Dalin's life points. However in the process it was destroyed, leaving Dalin open for an attack in Yami's next turn.   
  
"I'll continue my turn by setting a single monster, and playing Ray of Hope, to shuffle one Holy Shine Sphere and Venus back into my deck. Then I shall end my turn." Yami watched as a celestial light shined down upon the ground in front of Dalin, and the two named monsters rose up and that shot forth into Dalin's deck.   
  
Yami smirked as he took one of the cards from his hand and played it. "It's a good thing, actually, that I have no draw phase during this or my next turn. Now you won't be getting cards during my turn. Even better is that skipping draw phases don't stack, allowing me to use Offerings to the Doomed to destroy your set monster!"   
  
Dalin grimaced as his monster was shattered by the power of Yami's magic card. Offerings to the Doomed was the relative of Tribute to the Doomed, except in its case you didn't have to discard a card to activate it. Instead it allowed the user to skip their next draw phase in exchange for destroying a monster. But since Yami was already doing that, it was like destroying a monster for no charge whatsoever.   
  
"Next I set a monster in defense mode, and play Monster Reborn to revive Emperor Jabolug(2400/1000)!" First a monster card apperead sideways and face down on Yami's field, and then the armored warrior with its energy collectors rose up, ready to do battle once again. With such a high attack strength Yami would be able to devastate Dalin's life points and possibly get back in the lead.   
  
"Jabolug, attack your former master directly!" The warrior cast one hand into the still darkened sky and called upon the might of heaven to aid it. In response a bolt of lightning forked down from the clouds above and was absorbed by the warrior's energy collectors, super-charging him. Then the warrior cast his hands out and sent a bolt of lightning straight at Dalin.   
  
"Activate Sealing Ward of Light! By paying three thousand life points I can prevent any of your monsters whose attack is lower then three thousand from attacking! With this permanent trap card, and the fact that no monster in your deck has a higher attack then that, you won't be able to attack at all!" The bolt of lightning struck a solid shield of light and curled around it, trying to find a way in. Finding none the bolt dissipated, and Dalin was kept safe, though his life points still took a heavy blow from what he had to pay to activate the trap. (DLP: 3100)   
  
Yami took a look at his two remaining cards and then passed the turn to Dalin. The muscular duelist drew a new card, letting his life points increase to slightly recover from the loss he had taken in preventing Yami's attack. It was worth it though, because now Yami was doomed to stay on the defensive. (DLP: 3600)   
  
"I now play Graceful Charity!" (DLP: 4100) Since Dalin got to draw new cards because of Graceful Charity's effect his life points increased again, letting him recover a total of one third the amount of life points he had spent in his previous turn. He looked over the three cards he had drawn and then over at the rest of his cards. He calculated his move carefully and then selected two cards and sent them to the cemetery. There was no need to win the duel in that manner.   
  
"Now I shall summon Mars, Angel of Power(0/0)!" Yami was shocked at the appearance of Dalin's newest angel. Not only was it forbidding looking, but with Sanctuary of the Sky on the field Yami couldn't beat it in battle. Worse yet, there was no telling what sort of effect it might have.   
  
The angel was tall and muscular, with several scars across his bare chest. Blue wings extended out to either side, and in one hand he held a spear. The other hand was empty, but Yami could see the weapon it might hold. Strapped to its back was a massive black hammer, that could easily crush someone's skull with a single strike. The most forbidding part of it was the eerie red aura that extended several inches from its body.   
  
"This new angel benefits greatly from my having Sanctuary of the Sky in play. With it active his attack and defense strengths become equal to the difference in our life points. So Mars(2500/2500) becomes more then enough to defeat Emperor Jabolug! I'll set a single card face down, and then Mars will attack!"   
  
Mars raised its empty hand and pointed it at the larger warrior that it faced across the field. Yami grimaced as the red aura that surrounded Mars funneled directly into that outstretched arm, and then blasted out, spearing straight through Jabolug's chest and destroying it in seconds. (YLP: 1500, Mars: 2600/2600).   
  
Yami stared down at his two cards as he was for the second and final time, forced to skip his draw phase. Next turn he would draw again, and while it would benefit him, it would also benefit Dalin, which was never a good thing. "I'll set up one card. I'm not defenseless Sumatin, and I assure you that I will not allow this duel to be determined by gods, or by any other such force. This is merely a duel between the two of us and our destinies. I will now end my turn, and see exactly what your destiny can accomplish!"   
  
(DLP: 4600, Mars: 3100/3100) Dalin glanced down at his hand, and then smirked as he slapped a card down on his monster zone. "I set one card face down, next I summon Mercury, Angel of Wisdom(0/1700) in attack mode. Next I play a magic card known as Monster Gate! By sacrificing a monster, mercury, I can draw cards until I reach a monster that can be normal summoned, and then I special summon it. Now lets begin!"  
  
Yami stared in awe as a huge obelisk of some kind appeared, setting up a large circle of connectors and other strange things. Then Mercury rose into the air and rushed towards the gate. Bolts of lightning leapt from strange spikes that jutted out and Mercury shattered into thousands of pieces. Then the gate began to spin.  
  
Swirls of blue energy leapt across the gate from spike to spike, as the entire thing spun faster and faster. Soon a circle of that blue energy had appeared, and Dalin began drawing cards. He had gone through three of them by the time the actual portal opened, revealing a series of mystical symbols in between that ring of glowing blue power. "Come out, Heavenly Knight Perseus(1900/1600)!"   
  
From the gate galloped a half horse, half man with angel wings. The gate behind it collapsed in on itself and the knight settled himself in, ready to take whatever command was needed of him. "Unfortunately for me, in this turn Perseus can't attack. But I warn you that defenses won't work with him around. He does damage even if he the monster is in defense mode, and when you take damage from him I get to draw one card."   
  
Dalin raised one arm and pointed it at Yami's face down monster. With an attack strength of 3100 no monster Yami could have set face down could possibly withstand the assault. Once that monster was out of the way Yami's defenses would be decreased, and next turn he would draw a card, allowing Dalin to draw as well, boosting Mars to 3600. "Mars, I command you to destroy the Pharaoh's monster!"   
  
The angel stalwartly picked the hammer off of its back with a single hand. It hefted the hammer and then with a quick flap of its wings took flight. Yami watched it rise up into the air, and then fold its wings. The angel dropped like a stone, swinging its hammer as it went. The field shook with the force of the impact as the angel crashed down on Yami's defense monster, hammer first. A cloud of dust was sent sky high.   
  
With a quick sweep of its wings the angel returned to its previous place, and the dust was blasted away. However to everyone's surprise the monster that Mars had attacked was still there, and it was revealed to be...a melon? "Allow me to introduce Mashumelon(300/500)! This little monster may not seem impressive, but he can't be destroyed in battle, making him the perfect defense. Not only that, but when he's attacked in face down defense position he deals one thousand points of damage to the person who attacked it!"   
  
(DLP: 3600, Mars: 2100/2100) "Very well then. I shall end my turn, but be warned, since Mashumelon can't be destroyed in battle, he becomes the infinite target for my Heavenly Knight Perseus. In my next turn I will attack it and you will take 1400 points of damage, but I will still have my target!"   
  
Yami grimaced, knowing that Dalin was right. He couldn't afford for Dalin to attack Mashumelon with Perseus, so he'd have to make sure that didn't happen. He had to win soon, but at the moment he couldn't even attack without a monster whose attack strength was over three thousand. "Draw!" (DLP: 4100, Mars: 2600/2600)   
  
Yami clenched his eyes shut and whispered a little prayer, knowing that he needed something soon or else he'd be finished. He had to get a good card! "This is it! This card may determine the outcome of this duel!"   
  
He turned the card over and looked down at it and then shouted in triumph. He quickly played the card, knowing that his chance for success was here at last. "Its time to see exactly who fate favors! To do so I play a magic card known as Test of Fate! Now I will flip a coin and select one monster in my hand. If the outcome of the toss is heads then the monster is special summoned no matter what its text reads and then I can activate another effect, neither of which can be negated!"  
  
Dalin raised one eyebrow, shocked that the Pharaoh was willing to take the risk of a coin flip. However he understood something about such cards in the game of Duel Monsters. If they had a powerful effect such as this one did, then they had a powerful effect if it went wrong. "What happens if the coin lands on tails?"  
  
Yami smirked as he pulled a coin from his pocket and casually tossed it into the air where it spun about, twisting in a high arc through the air. "If the coin lands on tails then the monster I selected is removed from the game, and I lose life points equal to half of its attack strength. But I'm willing to test fate if that's what is need to win and go on to fulfill my destiny!"   
  
All eyes were focused on that single silver coin as it whirled through the air above the two duelists. The outcome of the entire duel might very well rely upon the single flip of a coin, and nobody wanted to miss that.   
  
Everyone was tense, including the two duelists, as the coin started on the last leg of its journey, the arc that would take it to the ground. Dalin and Yami watched, eyes practically burning holes in the coin, as it hit the ground next to Dalin's feet and spun about in a dizzying circle. Finally the spin of the coin slowed and it dropped onto its face, revealing the side that was face up to Dalin alone. "Its...heads."  
  
Yami smirked as he took the remaining card in his hand and then slammed it down onto one of his monster zones. "Now I gladly introduce you to Valkyrion the Magna Warrior(3500/3850)! With an attack strength of 3500 he's strong enough to attack, even with that ward of yours in play!"   
  
A tall machine-like warrior now dominated Yami's side of the field with its awe-inspiring attack and defense strength. Its yellow body had spikes coming out of the head, two large wings, and he held a broad sword that glistened in the rays of the sun that broke through the clouds above. "Now for the next effect of Test of Fate I shall destroy one card on the field. I select Sanctuary of the Sky!"   
  
Dalin let out a gasp of surprise as Valkyrion threw its sword at the sanctuary behind him. The sword sliced right into it, and the sanctuary became a card that was cut in half. He grimaced, knowing that his key card had been destroyed and his angels were defenseless. It was even worse, because the effect of Mars that made it so powerful only worked with Sanctuary of the Sky in play, so its attack was now 0!   
  
"Valkyrion, attack and destroy Mars with Magnet Strike!" The powerful combo warrior, one of the strongest monsters in the entire game of duel monsters, held its blade aloft and charged towards its angel opponent. The now weakened Mars tried to lift its hammer to defend itself, but without the boosting effect of Sanctuary of the Sky it was unable to get the hammer up in time. With a single slash of its blade Valkyrion cut Mars into ribbons. (DLP: 600)   
  
Dalin grimaced as he drew a card, even though his life points increased. He was now losing this duel, and Yami also had the field advantage with his incredibly powerful magna warrior. (DLP: 1100) But now he had the chance to win the duel. "Its all over now Pharaoh! By destroying Mars you have infuriated the heavenly order itself. Now witness the wrath that you have incurred. Activate trap card, Angelic Rage! During this turn my angel sub-types can attack directly!"   
  
Heavenly Knight Perseus galloped across the field, ready to strike a deadly blow. A huge aura of light extended off of it thanks to the effect of Angelic Rage. An aura that would make it unstoppable for this turn, and allow it to take Yami out. "Not today Sumatin! Open face down card, Book of Moon! This card will place your knight in face down defense mode, stopping its attack!"   
  
A magic card flipped up, revealing a green book. A green glow shot out from the magic card and struck Heavenly Knight Perseus. In a flash of light the knight was gone, and all that could be seen was a horizontal card. The attack had been stopped. "Very well, I'll set one card face down and end my turn."  
  
Yami drew his next card, knowing that they were now in the final leg of this duel. Despite his current advantage Dalin had proven himself to be quite adept at pulling himself out of the fryer, and coming back for a win. A skill that Yami also possessed. (DLP: 1600)   
  
Yami took a look at the card he had drawn and then grinned in triumph. He now had exactly what he need to win the duel! "Its over Sumatin, and I'm going to win. Book of Moon is a very effective card, but it works even better with its counterpart. Book of Sun to put Perseus back into attack mode, making him vulnerable to Valkyrion's attack!"  
  
Dalin grimaced as his knight flipped up again, ready and waiting for an order. Unfortunately it wasn't strong enough to stop Yami. If he had another turn he might have been able to use it to even the odds, but now he didn't have that. "Valkyrion, Magnet Strike!"   
  
The magnet warrior zipped across the field and slashed through Perseus before the angel could put up any sort of defense. The great strength of the mighty magnet warrior had struck again, and its damage was enormous. Yami grinned, knowing that the damage would come out as exactly 1600, enough to drop Dalin to 0. "Its over Dalin, and I've won my destiny."  
  
"You've won nothing yet! Activate Restorative Drought! When you destroy one of my monsters it boosts my life points by 500, allowing me to survive!" (DLP: 500) Yami grimaced, knowing that his chance to defeat Dalin had been taken from him, and in the next turn Dalin's life points would get boosted again. At the start of Yami's next turn they would be equal.   
  
(DLP: 1000) Dalin stared hard at the card he had drawn and then slipped it into its activation slot. It was time, now was the time for destiny's truth to reveal itself. "We're reaching the final leg of this race Pharaoh, very soon it will be over. So I play Hope of Heaven! This magic card will allow me to discard my entire hand in order to select five magic cards from my deck and place them in my hand. However it will also cost me half of my life points!" (DLP: 500)  
  
Yami watched, curious, as his opponent sent his entire hand to the cemetery. Then Dalin ejected his deck from its slot and started shuffling through, looking for whatever cards he needed to win the duel. Yami was certain he knew what at least one of them was.   
  
"I will begin by playing Sanctuary of the Sky!" Yami groaned as the temple appeared behind Dalin for the second time, in order to protect Dalin's angels. He had indeed predicted correctly, and one of those cards would probably let him bring out another angel.   
  
"I play Stealing Goblin, to decrease your life points and increase mine, just as I did to Malik!" The little goblin darted out of the card with his card and sauntered over to Yami. He swung his arms at Yami as if snatching something up, and then deposited it in his cart. As quickly as he had come the little goblin turned about and headed over to Dalin. Once he reached the duelist he picked up whatever he had taken, now in package form, and handed it to Dalin. When it opened the scores changes. (DLP: 1000, YLP: 1000)   
  
"Now I play Angel Glow, which increases my life points by 1000!" Yami grimaced as an angel descended from the sky above where the Goddess of Balance still dominated. The angel flapped its wings, sending a flurry of feathers down upon Dalin. As it did so a hole broke open in the sky above and a burst of light shot down, connecting with Dalin and restoring his life points. (DLP: 2000)   
  
"It is all over now Yami. For I play Monster Reborn to revive the monster that I had chosen to not use earlier in this game. I wanted to end it on different terms, but your skill has proven to great for me to win without it. Now I shall introduce you to one of the strongest angels I possess. Rise Saturn, Angel of Judgement(2400/0)!"   
  
The newest angel in Dalin's arsenal had purple skin and purple wings which he kept partially folded. The angel was male, and wore a white rob that descended past his feet. The center of the robe was a blue color, and around his neck he wore a symbol of wings with teeth descending from it, at the center of this pendant was a ruby. Upon the angel's head was some kind of fancy helm.   
  
"Pharaoh, you have a very important destiny. But it is not your destiny to face Taichi and defeat him. Were you to face Taichi you would most certainly lose, as he is a more powerful duelist then any you have ever faced before. So I will keep you safe by fulfilling my own destiny with a monster that is potentially more powerful then any other."  
  
Yami's eyes widened as the angel before him wrapped its wings around itself and started to glow a deep purple color. Swirls of light streamed off of both Yami and Dalin only to be absorbed by the glowing purple aura around Saturn. "By sacrificing my monster with Sanctuary of the Sky on the field I can inflict damage to your life points equal to the difference between ours, if of course my life points are higher. So this is the end. Saturn, Final Judgement!"  
  
The angel's wings swung wide and the purple aura exploded off of its body, consuming the two duelists in the purple light. The bright nova subsided moments later, leaving the end in its wake. For Yami had finally met his match in this deadly angel duelist. (YLP: 0)   
  
"I understand Sumatin. Go and face your destiny. I will continue to be ready to face mine when it comes along." The duel was over at last, but the danger was just brewing around the corner. For as soon as Drake was ready the second semi-final duel would begin, and as in each of Taichi's duels, someone was certain to be hurt, or perhaps even die.   
  
Many of their trials were over, but the greatest trials were only about to begin. For Taichi was the threat they would be forced to face, and behind him was the awesome might of Exodia, an invincible monster more powerful than the Egyptian god cards.   
  
__________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: Well, there ya go. The first of the semi-final matches finished, and one to go. Ya got two nice duels, and you found out about Drake's sister. Not only that, but this chapter marks my passing the 200 page mark! No its not really significant, but I feel excited about it anyways. I pass that point around the time when the coin flip takes place. Ya happy now? I hope you are, cuz now I gotta ask you one thing. Read and Review please?!   
  
Original Cards  
  
Taichi: Spirit of Darkness, To Dispel The Illusions Of The Mind's Eye, Demonic Revival Ritual, Demon Puppetry, Death Dealing Potion  
  
Bakura: Occult Rule Breaker  
  
Dalin: Goddess of Balance(based off of Angel of Balancing Scales, which belongs to Aldea. The rest of its effects will be revealed later), Angelic Choir, Magic Guard, Hope of Heaven, Angel Glow, Angelic Rage  
  
Yugi: Sacrifice Maneuver, Test of Fate  
  
Next Time: The last semi-final duel will commence, but only after Drake manages to get on his feet. Another obstacle lies between him and Taichi, and they are the questions of those around him. Can Drake confront these questions and duel Taichi without falling into darkness again? Find out next chapter! 


	19. Rising Darkness: Struggle of Life and De...

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! If you haven't figured that out yet you're either stupid or a lawyer trying to make me slip up so you can make some money off me. Well don't count on it punk! I don't intend to slip up anytime soon!  
  
Author's Note: This chapter took me a while to write, and hence caused the delay in the posting of chapter fifteen. This was because of a great amount of work I had to do, including make-up work I had from being sick and out of school for most of a week. I hope this chapter doesn't dissapoint you, and it lives up to your expectations of my work. Thanks, and please review. In fact, if you get the chance, would you mind dropping a line to some other people out there so they might review my story as well? Thanks! Oh yes, I know you've done that Time Mage, so you are excused from this requestion. Thanks!  
  
P.S.: In this chapter the second effect of Dark Ruler Hades is ignored as it was in the previous chapter. Note to all readers: Dark Ruler Hades cannot be revived from the cemetery, it just doesn't work. Thank you, and please continue. Don't let such a thing make your opinion of the story.  
  
Author's Advertisment: I'd like to take this moment to advertise a great story called Tokyo Tournament by G.O.T. Nick. Ironically he's one of the few people who review my story, but hopefully when other people start reading they'll see this advertisment and go read. Its got some really interesting OCs(though there are a lot of them), and good duels. He's also got humor and a great backstory that hasn't been fully revealed yet. If you catch up now you'll find yourself in his finals, which he's just started!  
  
  
  
"...before I can live with other folks I've got to live with myself. The one thing that doesn't abide by majority rule is a person's conscience."-Atticus Finch in Harper Lee's "To Kill a Mockingbird"  
  
Chapter Eighteen: Rising Darkness-Struggle of Life and Death  
  
"When you're thinking strategically you need to remember to think three dimensionally...maybe fourth dimensionally would be better." The look of confusion on Serenity's face was enough to tell Drake that he'd have to explain what he meant. Usually when he was teaching duelists he had to do that, as the concept wasn't one duelists usually thought of. It had been his sister who first taught him the concept.   
  
"When you look at a graph, you've got the X, which is the horizontal or length. Then you've got Y, which is the vertical or the height. Z is width or depth and is the third dimension. The fourth dimension doesn't have a letter, but you might call it T, as the fourth dimension is time."  
  
Serenity continued to give him a confused look, glancing down at the deck of cards that sat between them on the bed. After going into card types and some basic strategy, Drake had used his own cards as an example of how cards could connect together, and what sort of plays you should make. They had a couple of practice duels, cutting his deck in half to do so, and Serenity seemed to be improving. However she had a tendency to forget certain rules.  
  
"Okay, when you think of each of the dimensions in dueling, they all have to do with time I guess. The first part is what was. You have to remember what cards have been played and what cards are in both players cemeteries. Next part is what is, or in other words, the cards that are currently in play. You have to think about the cards you have in your hand, the cards that are on the field, and how they can be used together.   
  
The last part is what might be, the cards that are remaining in your deck. If you know every card in your deck, what cards you've already used, and so on, you can determine what the chances are of you drawing a card you need , or what useful cards you still have left. If you remember what was, what is, and what might be, then you've taken your first step to being a pro duelist."  
  
The sudden crackle of the intercom interrupted their discussion, and they looked around to find the source of the static. When a very distinctive voice came over the intercom they realized that something was wrong, and that very soon things would get worse.   
  
"Ladies and gentlemen...if you could be called such things...this is your new host, Taichi Nobuki. I'm sorry, but your regularly scheduled announcer has taken a vacation. However I'm sure at this point he's reached his destination at the bottom of the duel tower. If it makes you feel better I'm sure it was painless, unless of course he didn't die on impact, then he'd still be suffering right now."  
  
A murmur of anger and despair swept through all present on the tower. Each person who heard these words felt something different, but all of them knew that nothing good could come of Taichi decided to speed things up, and taking over.   
  
As they thought these things, the sky above the duel tower started to darken as clouds rolled in to cover the light of the sun. Citizens in Domino City looked up at a now black day, fearing for their lives even more when the beam of light split the towers above. The cries of apocalypse filled the air, and even the calmest of people would be ready to believe if the moon appeared red as blood.   
  
Thankfully for the calmer citizens of Domino City, the moon was not out, as it was still in fact daytime. But that didn't stop the terror that swept through the country side as the blackness blanketed everything in its heavy grip. Something was afoot, an apocalypse or some terrible evil, and only a group of a dozen or so teenagers actually knew what was going on.   
  
"I'm sure everyone is wondering why I've chosen now to make my move. The answer is quite simple really. Its my turn to duel again, and this time I intend to give you all quite a show. I will first crush Drake in a humiliating defeat, break his spirit, then kill him. After that I'll do the same with Dalin, and move on to every other person in this tower, starting from the strongest and making my way down the ladder. So when you're ready to die, please feel free to step into my parlor little Drakey!"  
  
Serenity stared hard at Drake as the older boy clenched the bed sheets in his hands, his teeth grinding together as he stared up at the intercom with hatred on his face. She had seen that look before, seen it when he lost all control and unleashed that huge monster on Autumn. "Drake...you can't go."  
  
"The hell I can't! Toss me my pants and turn around, I need to get ready for my duel with Taichi." Drake's intense violet orbs met Serenity's liquid brown one's, and the young girl looked deep into those eyes. She realized quite suddenly that underneath all the hatred and anger that Drake displayed on the outside at these moments, that he was really a frightened boy, barely sixteen, and not ready for this sort of conflict.   
  
She sighed as she got up from the bed and walked over to the chair. She hastily tossed him the jeans that sat on top of the chair and turned away, letting him change. She winced as she heard him suck in his breath upon trying to stand. She knew that there was still severe bruising to his spine and ribs, and the medical staff had said that such injuries were intensely painful, especially when standing or walking.   
  
"Its okay, you can turn around now." Serenity turned and saw Drake standing there, fully dressed but without his jacket or necklace. The other thing she could see was the suppressed pain in his eyes, and she instinctively knew that the act of just standing there was killing him. She didn't know him too well, but she had realized that he was very stubborn.   
  
"Drake...you can't do this. You can't go duel Taichi. If you do...you'll die." The older boy grimaced and turned away, grabbed his necklace up from the bedside table. He quickly placed it over his shoulders and limped over to the chair to grab his jacket. With painstaking slowness he pulled the jacket on, and she saw him hold back the shudder of pain.   
  
"I have to face Taichi. He deserves everything I can dish out and more. As for my current state...I've been thinking a lot about the Millennium Disc and how it's supposed to be driven by emotions. I figure I can use my own emotions to charge its power and keep me going. You know...suppress the pain till I've beaten Taichi. Once that bastard is dead and Kirani is free, then whatever happens..."  
  
The punk duelist sat down on the bed, biting back a cry of pain as a shimmering web of fire sliced through his back and his ribs, shattering his mind into thousands of pieces for that brief moment. He leaned over, ignoring the twist of agony that shot through his gut, and started to pull his boots on, one at a time.   
  
Drake yelped in surprise as Serenity gently but forcefully pulled him upright so she could look him in the eye. The intense look that he found in those brown eyes shocked him, and he realized abruptly that he wasn't the only one who cared about the outcome of this duel. The young teenage girl in front of him cared as well, and it seemed to him that she cared about everyone and everything. She was...an amazing person. But she was young and she didn't understand a lot of things.   
  
"The reason you can't go is more complex then what I said before. Even if you were in perfect condition I'd still say you can't go. If you go out there, duel your hardest, get your revenge by killing Taichi and then freeing Kirani...what then? Do you honestly think that she'd be willing to accept you after you killed someone to bring her back? Kirani wouldn't want anyone's blood spilled on her account!"   
  
The thought struck Drake like a ton of bricks. He had been focused this whole time on getting revenge and had never considered what Kirani might think of that revenge. She had been furious with Malik when the traitorous asshole had started killing off his own Rare Hunters, how would she react when she discovered that he had killed a possessed boy just so he could save her soul? "I...I can't help it. I have to go. Its something I have to do, and I don't have much of a choice."  
  
Looking away from the brunette, Drake started in on his laces and in under a minute both of his shoes were tight and ready. The better question however, was whether he was ready for this or not? His deck was in tip-top shape that was sure, and from his past several duels he was in top duel readiness. But physically he was in no condition for this. Kaiba's system generated a physical impact. Nothing from the DD2 was incredibly physical or painful, but in Drake's sad state it might be too much.   
  
Brushing these thoughts out of his head, Drake stood and started for the door, ignoring the slight limp he felt. He knew that now was not the time to start using his disc to help him. If he couldn't make it to the dueling arena without the support of his item, how could he possibly win a duel with it? Certainly Dalin and the others had said he was powerful, but he had no idea how to control that sort of power. All he could do was feel things out piece by piece.   
  
Grimacing in pain as he shifted his weight in a quick turn, realizing he was leaving something behind. He limped over to the dresser and grabbed up the DD2 that sat on top of it, and fitted it over his left arm. The device automatically adjusted itself to his arm as it had been programmed to do. He shuffled his deck a couple of times and then shoved it into the deck holder.   
  
As he turned to go for the second time a thought suddenly popped into his mind. Something he needed to say before he left. It was something he felt he had to say...no. Not just had to, but needed to.   
  
"Serenity...you're a good and pure person. Its been a long time since I've met someone as pure of heart and innocent, I might never have before even. And I don't want you to lose that. So promise me you won't watch the duel, because I don't expect anything that happens there to be pleasant. Not in the least."   
  
The fourteen year old brunette turned away from him, and dropped her head to stare at the floor. It was obvious from her stance that she was thinking about something. What she was thinking about Drake couldn't be sure. He wondered if it would be another blow like the last one she had given him, or whether she was just contemplating whether or not to agree to his request.   
  
In fact Serenity at this moment was considering what her next action should be. She could tell by the tone of Drake's voice that he was fairly certain he wouldn't make it back in one piece. The truth was that she wouldn't be able to stand it if that happened. He didn't deserve to die, no matter what things he had done out of anger. He deserved to live.   
  
"Drake....I...I'll agree to not watch the duel, but only on one condition. I want you to promise that you'll come back, for Kirani's sake if nothing else." Now it was Drake's turn to drop his head, not only to think her words over, but to think about whether he thought he could really make such a promise and keep it. In his condition could he honestly promise to come back alive?   
  
The answer was no. In this case he couldn't promise such a thing, because it wouldn't be right to lie to her. The chances of him returning alive from this duel were so slim that even he was certain he wouldn't be able to make it out of the duel alive. "I promise I'll come back. And I can't break a promise to such a cute girl can I?"   
  
The comment was meant to be a joke, to lighten the mood. It was the sort of pointless joke that Drake would make in any sort of situation where he was flirting with a girl. Just slide a compliment into the conversation for added effect. Of course he was telling the truth, she really was cute. But he hadn't meant it in any sort of serious way, it was just something to relieve tension.   
  
Whether this was a sign for Serenity or whether she just did it on impulse, moments after he made the promise the brunette teen acted. Drake's eyes widened in shock as her lips met his and she leaned against him, her soft body against his. On instinct he wrapped his arms around her and returned the kiss. It was a sweet and gentle kiss, spurred on by whatever reasons a young girl might have, and though it lacked experience it was a good kiss.   
  
When they broke apart Drake could only stare blankly at the younger girl. He had returned the kiss because that was his natural reaction to a kiss. It was hardly his first, and not the first time he'd kissed a younger girl, but he was interested in Kirani, foolish as the notion was. Did he tell her the kiss couldn't mean anything, or did he just leave and act as if nothing had happened? "Serenity..."  
  
"For luck. Now get going." Drake closed his mouth in mid sentence and caught her eyes. A small smile touched his lips as he nodded in agreement to her statement. For luck. Now get going. With that last smile he turned and limped out the door, holding in the pain and the surprise that still filled him. Yet somehow, it seemed that the little piece of luck was just what he needed to get his spirits up.   
  
As soon as Drake was out the door Serenity dropped onto the bed and stared straight at the door. A trickle of salty liquid slid down her cheek as she tried to hold back the tears that threatened to break free. He had promised her he would come back, even though the look on his face said he was sure he wouldn't be coming back.   
  
"You promised me you'd come back Daisuke Ihachi, and even if you don't come back for me I'll just be happy if you come back. You promised, and you can't break a promise sealed with a kiss, everybody knows that." And then she could no longer hold back the tears she had been keeping inside since he first started getting dressed for the duel ahead. She cried because she knew the truth. She would never see Daisuke Ihachi again.  
  
************************************************  
  
Drake's limping gait had hardly gotten him ten feet when he was forced to stop because someone was blocking his path. Joey Wheeler stood in front of him, and a bit farther up the hall were Tristan, Tea, and Duke. What did they want. "I have to get to the duel."  
  
The blonde Japanese teen didn't given any sign that he intended on moving along. In fact he seemed perfectly happy with just standing in Drake's way. Though why Joey was standing in his way like this he had no idea. "Look, I really have to get to the duel, so if there's something you need to say or do, get it over with."  
  
Joey's usually happy grin was nowhere to be found. Instead a somber frown dominated his facial features, standing out. As the blonde began to speak he shoved his hands in his pockets and leaned back slightly, almost as if relaxing. But there was nothing relaxing in the way he was speaking, or in the words he was saying.   
  
"I've had to deal with a lot of crap from plenty of people. My parents divorced early in my life and I lost the person who meant the most to me, my sister. She wasn't dead, but I was forced to know that I though she lived, I couldn't be around her. While she's here I've been forced to deal with a bunch of idiots trying to win my sister's heart. It ain't like they're no good, its just I don't think they deserve her, and she doesn't seem to return their feelings."  
  
As Drake listened he managed to survey the hallway around them, and found a single television screen set into the wall next to Joey. Seeing that screen and hearing Joey's words gave him the realization that Kaiba considered him dangerous. Joey, being the concerned brother that he was, would have forced Kaiba to monitor his sister while in the room with a potentially dangerous person. Kaiba probably would have done it anyways.   
  
Since that was the case it meant...damn, it meant that Joey had seen everything that had happened in the room. "Listen up. I know you lied to Serenity, and that you don't think you keep that promise you made. I may not necessarily trust you, and I don't think you deserve someone like Serenity, but I do know that she has feelings for you, and I won't let you die and leave her to grieve."   
  
Drake grimaced and shut his eyes, turning his head away from the blonde. These were things he didn't want to hear right now. Serenity couldn't have feelings for him, that would complicate things, and he already had too much complication. It had just been a good luck kiss right?   
  
Drake's brain provided the answer, whereas his heart had given him the question. A good luck kiss was a short peck on the cheek or lips at the most. The kiss she had given him had been no peck. It had been a full-fledged passionate kiss from a sad teenage girl. A sad teenage girl who was worried about whether he would live through the next hour. Her comment about coming back for Kirani's sake if nothing else should have tipped him off. "I...I'm sorry Joey. I made that promise because I didn't want to disappoint her, and I didn't want her coming to see me...well, see whatever happens. I really want to come back, but I don't know if it's a promise I can keep."  
  
The blonde stepped to the side and leaned back up against the corridor wall. Drake blinked in surprise, having expected something of a more severe reaction from the other duelist. Joey's comments had been sincere and serious, so how was he being so relaxed now?   
  
"I needed to know how you felt. Now I do. So just don't disappoint her, and try and do me a favor would ya? Kick Taichi's ass for me." Drake blinked for a few seconds, trying to process this sudden change in direction. Joey had just been trying to figure out how Drake felt about his sister? That was all?   
  
"Don't worry, I'll do that and more." Drake flashed Joey a thumbs up and then started limping off down the hall. However he knew ahead of time that the three people ahead of him had something to say as well, and every second that was wasted was another ounce of strength leached from his body. But there was nothing he could do.   
  
Tristan was the first one of the three to speak. "You plan on taking this duel all the way. One of you walks away, the other gets carted off on a silver platter. You or Taichi? I get that whole idea, but do you really think its necessary?"  
  
Tea stepped forward to take up the second part of a series of virtual interrogations that Drake was almost certain had been planned ahead of time. Honestly he wondered which of them had written the lines, or if they were just improvising off of a general idea they had thought up before hand.   
  
"There's another option you know. You don't have to duel Taichi, since in your condition it isn't safe. All you have to do is forfeit, and Taichi advances to the finals. Then Dalin can take care of everything. He's in much better shape and would stand a better chance against Taichi. Just forfeit, that's all it takes."  
  
Finally the third of the trio stepped up to the podium to give his speech. What the dark haired dice boy had to say that could possibly interest him, Drake had no clue. But he was about to find out. "I don't trust you. You nearly killed Autumn and you've shown a number of signs of being mentally unstable. I want you to forfeit, because I don't trust you not to blow everything out of proportion and make the situation worse then it already is."   
  
Drake grimaced and brushed past the trio, not even bothering to look back as he continued his way towards the arena, limping as he went. Why the hell had they even bothered? What did they think they were going to accomplish by shooting these little tidbits of crap at him? Was what he was doing necessary? Should he forfeit? Would his efforts just make the situation worse? It was all damned pointless!  
  
"There isn't a better way that I can think of, and it's the only way that seems right. As for a forfeit, I don't forfeit anything, and this is no different. Besides, I can't let Dalin take the burden on his shoulders when I've already sworn that Taichi won't make it past me. And as to you not trusting me Duke. Frankly dice boy, I don't give a damn."  
  
As Drake made it around the second corner on his march through the annoying corridors that were between him and the elevator that led to the top of Duel Tower he encountered another small group standing in his path. This one consisted of Autumn, and Mai who was helping the injured Autumn stand.   
  
Physically Autumn seemed in perfect condition, there were no visible injuries. But her skin was pallid and her hair was damp against her skull, slick with sweat. She was weak and feverish, and it was all because she had almost exhausted all her physical and magical energies to keep from being killed by Obelisk.   
  
She was in a terrible condition, and it was all his fault. If he had only been able to control his anger, his hatred, not only would Autumn be okay, but he'd be better as well. If he had been able to hold his emotions in check then he'd be in perfect condition for his duel with Taichi, and none of the things he'd gone through so far would have happened. Serenity wouldn't...she wouldn't have to grieve for him.  
  
"I know what you're thinking Drake. It isn't your fault. You don't have to feel guilty. I was hurt, you got hurt, things are looking bad. But blaming yourself is only going to distract you from the real issue. And the real issue all comes down to the simple fact that there is one person who is at fault in all these instances. Every bit of pain, both physical and emotional that each of the people on this Duel Tower is feeling, it all leads back to that one person."  
  
Drake clenched his fist as he traced those feelings back, his disc naturally reacted to his anger and flashing a dim golden glow. And in that moment he saw a flash of the emotions coming from the two people before him. It was like a vibrant array of colors that he could both see and feel, a whole new sense of perception opened up by the power of his Millennium Disc.   
  
Despite her outward appearance Autumn was burning with confidence. Confidence in him, confidence that everything would work out, confidence that he would survive, confidence that she would get better.   
  
From Mai he garnered a similar determination, and a ray of sadness directed towards the younger girl that she supported. Mai felt terrible that such a thing had happened to someone so young, but the feelings that Mai had in response, feelings of anger, were not directed at Drake.   
  
Instead they were directed at, "Taichi. He's the one responsible for all of this. I've been letting that slip from view and now, thanks to you, I just got the reminder I needed. And its all I need to reinforce my determination to beat him into a bloody pulp. Thanks Autumn, I needed that, and I truly am sorry for what happened."   
  
The young girl smiled weakly in response, and the two girls...no, two women, stepped aside to let him pass. And he knew that now was not the time to dawdle any longer. Whatever things lay ahead he had to continue onwards, else he'd never reach them. Whether he was interrupted again or not, he would always continue to press on towards his ultimate goal.   
  
Drake had been right when he had guessed that he would face other interruptions. His next one was from a face more familiar then those he had encountered already. It was the face of an opponent, the face of a rival, the face of a friend. "Hey Kensai."  
  
The martial artist returned Drake's greeting with a solemn look, like he had just watched someone die, or was expecting to see such a thing. Then again, Drake was pretty certain of the same thing. "So, what's this lecture got for me?"  
  
Kensai flashed him a brief smile at the joke, showing Drake that Kensai had known about the other's intentions of talking to him about whatever issues they felt they needed to discuss. Maybe they had all even decided on the order ahead of time...though he doubted the part with Serenity was planned ahead of time.   
  
"I wish only to offer a simple idea to you. It is this simple fact that any warrior should know. To achieve victory you cannot simple use force and skill, for sometimes something more is needed to win. The truth is that you cannot achieve victory without first discovering who your opponent is. Now you must discover who your opponent is."  
  
Drake furrowed his brow in confusion, not understanding what Kensai was getting at. What did he mean he had to discover who his opponent is? It was an obvious question, of course Drake knew who his opponent was. How could he possibly not know who his opponent was? What sort of idiotic thing was that to ask?  
  
"My opponent is Taichi! Why the hell did you bother to ask me such a stupid thing? Of course I know who my opponent is, I've been spouting it since before it was even my time to duel him. Hell, he just announced over the intercom that he was my opponent. How much more obvious could it be?"   
  
Drake stomped forwards, ignoring the flash of pain that swept through him as he stepped down to heavily, and walked around Kensai. He could understand interruptions like Autumn's, but he couldn't waste his time on such a pointless question as Kensai's. He didn't have time for such idiotic interruptions!   
  
"If you duel Taichi without first discovering the true answer to my question...you will lose." Drake whirled around to give Kensai a piece of his mind, but upon twisting around he discovered that Kensai was no longer anywhere in sight. The hallway was empty, and there were no hiding places, yet Kensai was simply gone. Shaking his head in confusion Drake continued on, and it wouldn't be long before again he got a lecture of a different sort.   
  
There were only a few turns left before he reached the elevator. As he neared his goal with no interruptions for nearly a minute he became aware of the aching sensation in his hips. Walking was hurting him...so how was he going to manage to make it through getting knocked around in a duel with someone as skillful as Taichi was?   
  
"I've lost track of destiny. From what I had been told it would be me who would save the world from an ancient darkness that was returning to threaten the world. But I lost my duel to Dalin, and you move onwards to face that ancient darkness in a duel that could mean the fate of the world. The question that I have to ask myself is whether my destiny doesn't refer to this evil, or if the darkness is so powerful that its interfering with fate itself."  
  
Drake glanced over his shoulder to find Yugi, in his Yami form, standing there. The look on Yami's face told Drake that the King of Games was truly worried about what the answer was. There was no answer that Drake could give that would totally satisfy the other duelist, but he had to look inside himself for an answer he felt applied to himself.   
  
"No fate but what you make right? If some blonde American woman can make her own fate, then I can do the same. So can you. So don't give in to all these stupid ideas about things being determined ahead of time. Nothing is decided until the last act, and we can never know before hand how things will happen. That's what makes life both interesting and difficult. But we have to live with that."  
  
Satisfied with the answer he had provided, Drake looked away, and continued on his painful journey towards the destiny that he would determine for himself. He was going to show Taichi that sheer determination and will power could where more powerful then anything else, just like Joey had said in his duel with Yami.   
  
As Drake walked away Yami smiled to himself, and glanced over his shoulder at the shimmering spirit form of his partner, Yugi. Though Drake was unable to see the young boy as he stood there listening in Yami had been fully aware that Yugi was waiting to find out how Drake felt about destiny. "Well, you got your answer Yugi. Whether he's right or not doesn't matter. As long as he believes."  
  
Drake groaned as he came across one of the last people he had expected to see on this little trek through lecture land. Why would this guy have come to give him a lecture? Kaiba wasn't the sort of person to lecture others, and he wasn't exactly a good role model to be preaching anything of any sort to anyone. Besides, Drake had punched Kaiba and beaten him in a duel. It wasn't like Kaiba had a history of being forgiving.   
  
Kaiba spoke in his usual gruff and terse tones, leaving his feelings clear. It didn't take a Millennium Disc to know that Kaiba was holding back anger, but anger that wasn't directed at Drake. It didn't take a genius or the disc to know where that anger would be leading. It had to be leading to Taichi. But why it was leading towards Taichi...he had no clue.   
  
"You'd never expect that we would have anything in common. But we do. During Duelist Kingdom Pegasus stole my brother's soul and kept it imprisoned in a card. The same situation as you have with Kirani, and a situation somewhat similar to your's and your sister's. I know what its like to see eyes normally filled with life blank and dull, worse then dead."   
  
This was not what Drake had been expecting. How could he possibly have known that Kaiba had experienced what he had? There was no way he could have known that he and Kaiba had lived through extremely similar situations. But a better question was why Kaiba was telling him this now. Kaiba wasn't exactly Mr. Touchy Feely.   
  
"I...I understand. But why? Why did you tell me? Why bother? I don't get it." To say that Kaiba smiled would have been an overstatement. To say that he smirked would probably have been rude. To describe the expression on his face you'd probably have to invent a new book on Kaiba-expressions. It was somewhere between anger and happiness, a very strange expression indeed.   
  
"Because I know that you feel the same way in your situation as I did in mine. You want the person who did this to suffer. You want to hurt Taichi as badly as you can, kill him even. I also know that in simulated test runs in my computer that you're screwed. With all the cards in your deck, including Obelisk, you only stand a 2.14% chance of victory against Taichi and his Exodia."  
  
Drake grimaced as he glanced down at the deck in his duel disk. Was that really the best chance he stood against Taichi while the other duelist wielded Exodia? According to Kaiba's calculations that was only cards stacking up against each other, it didn't include the fact that Drake was in terrible condition. What did that drop his chances to? .01%?   
  
"Damnit! I refuse to believe that mathematic equations have anything to do with Duel Monsters! You can't compute duels like they were facts and figures, it just doesn't work out that way. There are too many other factors to think about to truly find any true percentage. It can't work."  
  
Kaiba smirked and extended one hand forward. Drake blinked and looked down at the hand, surprised to see a single Duel Monsters card. "Of course I can't factor in those outside influences. But I did factor in that with this one card your chances increase from 2.14% to 11.83%. Its nothing impressive, but its certainly better then the previous percentage. I'd say even not considering those outside factors that it will be useful."   
  
Drake stared at the card for a minute before taking it from Kaiba's hand. Without looking at it he slipped it into his deck. He gave Kaiba simple nod of acknowledgment and continued on his way, knowing that the simple nod was all that Kaiba required. Like he had previously stated, Kaiba was no Mr. Touchy Feely.   
  
Less then a minute later Drake stood in front of the elevator. However one last obstacle stood between him and his goal. The last person he had to speak was the one he knew the least, and he stood right in front of the elevator door, preventing Drake from passing.   
  
Dalin looked Drake in the eyes and held the punk duelist's gaze for several seconds before he spoke. When he did he spoke in a quiet and calm voice that pierced into Drake's heart and soul for reasons unknown to him. Whatever the reason, Dalin's voice was able to cut straight past Drake's barriers and to his deepest core.   
  
"If you could save the world, perhaps cure it of a disease that would kill everyone within one week, could you do so if it required that you sacrifice the life of a single child, or yourself?" Dalin fell silent and then stepped aside, ready to allow Drake to pass. But Drake wasn't fully ready to pass...he needed to answer the question.   
  
"Don't you think you have the situation a bit reversed? I'm about to risk the lives of thousands of others, including myself, for the fate of one person. If I lose then Taichi is one step closer to his goal and gains my power for his own. But I'm not doing this to save the world, I'm doing it to save Kirani."  
  
Drake pressed the button for the elevator and stepped on as soon as it opened. He turned around so he could press the button for the floor he wanted. As the doors started to close Dalin got in one last comment. "I know the situation I gave was the reverse. But you still didn't answer my question."  
  
The doors closed and the elevator started to rise, pulling Drake away from the strange duelist and his puzzling question. If he could save the world by sacrificing the life of a child or his own life, could he do it? "I don't know."  
  
****************************************  
  
The arena was dark. A purple fog cascaded around Drake's feet and his body, making it harder to breath then it should have been. As soon as he stepped into that fog and saw the person standing at the other end of the arena he started to draw upon the power of his Millennium Disc. "Welcome little Drake. Is the little boy ready to face his deat...oops, I mean his destiny. Well, are you?"  
  
Drake let his anger surround him and flow into him, powering himself through the ability of his item. He hated Taichi, and he wanted him to die. It was that simple. "Taichi, I'm ready to face whatever you can throw at me. So lets get this thing going already so I can kick your ass!"  
  
The other duelist laughed, his ice blue eyes reflecting with an inner darkness as the fog passed by. Taichi reached into his pocket and pulled something out. Drake watched with interest as the dark duelist raised the objects and displayed them, revealing two needle like machines. Whatever the little things were, they looked complex and high-tech.   
  
"Its not that simple Drake. You see, since I'm now in charge of this tournament I've decided to add a little extra spice to it. A new requirement of the tournament is that each competitor must use one of these nifty little devices. All you do is slap it onto your neck and that, as they say, is that."  
  
Drake caught one of the little things as Taichi threw it to him. Unfortunately the action stretched his arm out a bit too much, pulling on the muscles attached to his ribs. Doing so caused a flash of hot fire across his right side. Surprisingly the fire was dulled almost instantly by the magical energy coursing through him. The energies surged towards the injured spot and supported it, enforcing its defenses.   
  
"What exactly is this thing?" Drake knew that he was going to have to use it no matter what, so even as he asked he pressed the thing against his neck. He gasped as sharp needles dug into his neck and prongs of some sort widened whatever hole was made. The device collapsed in on itself and wormed itself into his neck, closing up the wound after itself. The machine had just burrowed into his neck!  
  
Taichi's laughter at Drake's surprise only helped to reinforce Drake's determination and anger. The golden energy of his magic flowed lightly into that spot and tried to remove the threat, but a black cloud of energy struck back, keeping his energy at bay. The device was protected by Shadow Magic.   
  
"It's a rather simple little toy invented recently by a military company in order to be used for interrogation. Of course I altered it to suit my purposes. Using nano-technology the device will respond to certain stimuli and send tendrils of nano-probes throughout your system each time some item of stimuli occurs. Sadly the process of extension is enormously painful and has been known to kill eventually."   
  
Drake cursed Taichi under his breath as he realized the implications. Whenever those stimuli came into play the device would burrow further through his body, and it would inflict massive amounts of damage as it went. Weakened as he was even his magic might not be able to hold up against the device, not when he couldn't effect it. "What's the stimuli?"  
  
Taichi grinned viciously as he activated his duel disk, the panels shooting together to form the playing field. It lit up with the numbers reading 4000, meaning that Taichi was ready to go. In response Drake activated his own duel disk, which quickly counted up to 4000 life points. "The stimuli Taichi! What are the stimuli?"   
  
When Taichi started to draw his opening hand, not even bothering to look at the cards, Drake began to get truly irritated. The asshole was trying to piss him off deliberately! He thought it was funny keeping Drake in the dark about the stimuli.   
  
In order to satisfy the increasingly infuriating duelist, Drake drew his own hand of five cards. Following in Taichi's example he too didn't look down at his cards. Instead he kept his gaze on the other duelist, his eyes attempting to bore holes into Taichi's forehead.   
  
"The stimuli are a few simple things. The first is destruction. Whenever one of your monsters is destroyed, that is by battle or effect and not simply going to the cemetery as would happen by tribute, then the device will activate. Then there is forceful impact. If you get struck at a force above a certain level, the device will activate. Finally there is the most painful and dangerous. Life point damage. Now that we've got that out of the way, why don't we set the conditions for the winner and loser shall we?"  
  
The two duelists faced each other, Shadow Realm twisting around them, as they contemplated what would happen next. The terms in Drake's mind, were simple, at least from his end. He could guess what Taichi would want, but he'd have to wait and find out. "If I win, then you have to release Kirani's soul and every other soul you've taken. You'll also have to relinquish the Millennium Items you have. Of course, after that I'll kill you."  
  
Taichi merely smirked at Drake, some sort of darkness flashing behind his eyes. Whatever Taichi had in mind, Drake knew it wouldn't be good. But then again, nothing Taichi did was good. "You know, I like your style. We're actually quite similar to each other in some ways, both being able to kill and having done so before."  
  
"Shut up! I'm nothing like you! What I did before was retribution pure and simple. You kill people for the fun of it, and that is one of the many things that separates me from you!" As Drake spoke, waves of power flowed into him from his anger. However he lacked the control of that power, just as he had against Autumn. If he lost complete control over that influx of magical energies, he'd be crushed under the weight of his own power.  
  
"Believe what you like, but I still see similarities. Not that those things will keep me from killing you and stripping you over your item and every ounce of your power. For that will be what happens when I win this duel. Your great power will be a big step towards accomplishing my task. I'd also like to mention that not only will your body die when you lose, but your soul will be destroyed as well. So...accept the terms?"  
  
"I accept! Now lets get this duel started already!" In this instance Drake's anger was focused more to himself then to Taichi. He needed to get the duel started because he was being sapped of his strength faster then he could draw it. He had forgotten the fact that the Shadow Realm required those within it to give up magical or life energies in order to keep from being absorbed into it.   
  
Taichi's grin swept aside the minimal hope Drake had that the Shadow Realm would help even the odds by weakening Taichi. What Drake didn't know was that Taichi's magic was of a different variety, and tied more to the Shadow Realm then anything else. So the power of this place, a leakage from his master as it was, merely served to sustain him, feed him even.   
  
"I shall begin this duel with the magic card, Demon Fallout. By discarding one demon sub-type from my hand I can draw two cards. I merely discard Skull Knight #2 in order to get myself two more cards." The punk duelist watched as Taichi deposited one of his cards into the cemetery and then drew two more cards from his deck to add to his hand, replenishing it to a total of six cards.   
  
"Now that I've gotten that out of the way, I can set a single card down on the field. To end my turn I'll summon a monster you should be familiar with. Demon Soldier(1900/1500)!" A face-down card appeared on the field, and then was followed by the ever familiar Demon Soldier. The purple skinned demon flung its cape over its shoulder and unsheathed its sword, ready to take action. Oddly enough, its feet were directly on the ground instead of floating a few feet above the ground as was normal.   
  
Drake shook the thought off and finally took a look at his hand. It was a good group of cards, but he didn't have any basic monsters to summon, so he had to hope for one in his draw. Starting off a duel without any monsters was not a good thing. "Draw!"  
  
Glancing down at the card he had just drawn, Drake felt a twist in his gut as he realized how like his current situation the card was. However it was just what he needed in this instance to get a quick head start, and deal some serious damage to Taichi. "I bet you anything that my first card comes back to bite you more then once during this duel. I'll consider it an omen that I'll be cutting your life points down by more then half in the first turn. So go, Change of Heart!"  
  
As the two duelists watched a half angel, half demon creature swooped down from the sky and collided with Demon Soldier. The demon tried to fight the power of the magic, but it was too great. Drake smirked as the demon staggered over to his side of the field, under his command for this whole turn. "Your demon is a disgrace to me, so I'll sacrifice it to summon Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!"   
  
The black-robed magician stepped onto the field shortly after the Demon Soldier shattered into thousands of pieces. The emotionless look on the magician's face was exactly the opposite of Drake's expression, which was filled with rage. "Now I'll show you how to win a duel! Chaos Magician will attack directly!"   
  
The magician swung his staff up over his head and started gathering energy. A pinpoint of light quickly gathered together into a basketball sized sphere of energy. Once the spellcaster was ready to go he let the sphere drift down towards his mid-section before swinging his staff like a bat, sending the energy ball careening towards Taichi.   
  
"Go face down card, Mirror Force!" Drake gasped as the sphere of light collided with an unbreakable barrier. He watched as the blast reversed directions and collided with his magician, shattering it instantly. The leftover energy swept through the magician and struck drake in the chest, knocking him off his feet and back nearly a meter. Then the device kicked in.  
  
The pain was beyond anything he had ever experienced. He couldn't even describe what was happening to him. On the outside his body twitched violently as the device sent thick tendrils down his neck and into other parts of his body, leaving dark trails as they went. His magic naturally tried to ease the pain and destroy the device, but the machine's dark magic barrier again repelled the attack. His magic was also forced to deal with the damage his twitching was causing to his already injured body.   
  
It took a few minutes, but finally the pain subsided and Drake was able to drag himself back onto his feet. He collected his cards from where they had been scattered and looked down at them, trying to focus enough to decide his next move. "I...I'll set two cards face down. End turn."  
  
It became Taichi's turn again, and as soon as he saw the card he had drawn he smiled wickedly as if he had something deadly in mind. "Monster Reborn on Skull Knight #2(1000/1200)." The skeletal warrior shimmered into view in the exact same spot that Demon Soldier had previously occupied, ready to fill the stronger creature's shoes.   
  
"Now I sacrifice it for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600) activating its effect to special summon another Skull Knight #2 from my deck to the field!" The blue-skinned demon ruler replaced the skeletal warrior, and then was joined by a new skeletal warrior. The skeletal creature tried to advance on Drake, but Hades snapped a single hand out, knocking the creature flat on the ground.   
  
"I'll continue my turn by setting two cards face down on the field. Now that I've emptied my hand of all but one card, its time to activate that single card. Treasure From Hell!" Drake and Taichi both ejected their decks from the holders and started drawing cards from the bottom of their decks. Taichi drew six cards and Drake drew four cards, giving them each a total of six cards. Then the replaced their decks in their normal spots.  
  
"I suppose you're curious as to why I'd give you more cards. Well this next move should help you figure it out. The magic card Peer Pressure allows me to force the activation of one card on the field or in a player's hand. If the timing is wrong that card is removed from the game. However I'm activating my face down Demon Catapult!"   
  
A catapult that seemed to be formed of corpses and skulls reared up on the field, its every motion sending a wave of sickening smells to assault Drake's senses. He blinked tears out of his eyes as Skull Knight #2 set himself in the catapult and then threw his sword at the little lever that would launch it.   
  
Drake threw up his hands in a feeble gesture of defense as the demon was hurled across the field with tremendous force. The punk duelist instinctively set up a barrier of magical energy, thereby further straining his limits. The demon struck the barrier and as it exploded a ripple went across the barrier. Moments later the barrier was pricked like a bubble, and the remaining force hit Drake.   
  
That single strike sent Drake tumbling end over end for several feet, each bouncing motion further worsening his deteriorating condition. The impact set off the machine in his neck for the second time, and sent him into a world of pain. This time he couldn't even begin to guess how long it lasted.   
  
As he finally returned to the world of consciousness he discovered that Taichi was already making his move. Worse yet, three cards had already vanished from his hand, courtesy of Demon Catapult's effect. "My next card is called Big Bad Voodoo. Now for its effect I can discard any number of cards from my hand to force you to discard the same number. So I'll part with three cards to eliminate the rest of your hand!"   
  
Drake groaned as he lost three more good cards. He shoved them into the slot for his cemetery and waited for Taichi to finish his turn. There couldn't be much left, not with only one card in his hand. "Now, I already know you've got some kind of card face-down to stop my attack. I didn't bother to read your mind because I already know the outcome of the duel, so I don't need that extra help. So I'll just use the last card in my hand before passing the turn to you. I'll play Twilight Renewal, a magic card that I can play when I've got no other cards in my hand. Its effect lets me draw five cards, replenishing my hand!"   
  
Drake was forced to take in a deep breath to keep himself moving, because his power was running lower and lower with each turn. He turned his gaze down upon the single card he now held in his hand, and then heaved a sigh of relief. "Pot of Greed."   
  
He deposited his used magic card in the cemetery and then drew two cards off the top of his deck. Even that motion seemed to drain him. He would have to end this as quickly as he could. Now he knew how to. "I'll start by play the magic card Dark Magic Revival. By its effect I can play a magic card from my cemetery which after activation will go to your cemetery. But the card I'm reviving is a permanent magic card, so I don't have to worry about that. I put Mystic Funnel into play, a key card to my strategy!"  
  
Right in front of Drake the fog between to twist as a vortex started to open. Drake smirked as the vortex reached its full width and dominated half the field. This card was indeed one of his key cards, and this was the first time he had gotten to use it during the entire Battle City tournament. It was a good time for it too. He was going to need it to win this duel.   
  
"My next card is called Instant Replay, which lets me reuse the effect of any card that has been played during this turn. I reuse Dark Magic Revival, so I can play Change of Heart on Hades!" This time around it was the demon ruler who was assaulted by the half demon, half angel creature. Drake smirked as what was perhaps Taichi's most powerful monster, aside from Exodia, joined his side for the duration of the turn.   
  
"And now that you've done that, Change of Heart goes to my cemetery. Thanks." Drake grinned as Taichi confidently watched the Change of Heart card fall towards Taichi's cemetery. Once it slipped into the slot, obviously by magic, Drake was free to activate one of his face down cards.   
  
"In response I'll chain with Zombie's Jewel! When a card goes to your cemetery I can use Zombie's Jewel to put it in my hand and let you draw one card. So I'll bring back Change of Heart for future use." The card that had just gone to Taichi's cemetery zipped out and deposited itself in Drake's hand, much to his satisfaction. He'd be able to use it again in his next turn, but now he had to inflict some serious damage.   
  
"Dark Ruler Hades, strike down your former master!" Hades grunted in response and charged across the field, intent on taking the life of his former master. Hades was the ruler of all demons, and gladly took up the chance to attack one who had dared to command him. Taichi however, was perfectly prepared for such a traitorous action.   
  
"Reveal face down card, Weakening of Attack! This quick play magic card will negate the attack and end your battle phase!" Drake grimaced as Hades slowed as it slogged through air that seemed thicker then water. Finally Hades stopped struggling to get forward, and just stood there, waiting for Drake's turn to end so it could return to Taichi. Then it would get revenge upon Drake for trying to command it.   
  
"End turn." As soon as Taichi started his move, Drake was in action. If he couldn't win quickly by pure force then he was going to have to try an underhanded move. His Millennium Disc could manipulate the emotions of others, so he just had to manipulate the emotions of his opponent, and force him to do what Drake wanted him to do.   
  
Taichi grabbed the first card off the top of his deck and then perused his hand for several seconds before finally looking back up at Drake. The waiting didn't bother the punk duelist, because it just gave him more time to work his magic. "You helped me you know. Now I've got more then enough cards to carry out my plan. You see I knew ahead of time what one of the cards I would draw would be, so I didn't use any cards of the five I had."  
  
With those words Drake felt a surge of confidence from the other duelist. Taichi had been confident the entire time, but this most recent part was just the added boost that Drake needed to track Taichi's confidence, and boost it to the point where Taichi would start to slip up. "Go ahead, whatever your plan is, I'm ready."  
  
Taichi grabbed five of his seven cards and then shoved them into his graveyard slot as he slipped a sixth card into one of the magic/trap slots on his DD2. "The reason I needed those cards was so I could activate Treasure of Demon God. By discarding five cards I can draw two cards from the bottom of my deck, and from now on I draw two cards from the bottom of my deck as my draw phase each turn!"  
  
He ejected his deck and drew two cards from the bottom before shoving it back in. He now had three cards in his hand, and the ability to get two cards each draw would seem to give him an added advantage. But Taichi would see that the advantage didn't really exist. "I shall set two cards face down, and then summon the second Demon Soldier(1900/1500). Watch and learn fool, as I destroy you once and for all! Demon Soldier, Hades, kill him!"  
  
The monsters charged. That was the only way to describe it. Feet pounding against the ground as they swiftly closed the gap between their deadly weapons and Drake's vulnerable flesh. The Demon Soldier raised its sword high overhead as it came in on the approach, and Hades stretched out his arms, ready to squeeze the life out of Drake. There was nothing in between them and him. Nothing that Taichi could see.  
  
"Your overconfidence will be your undoing! Activate quick-play magic card, Trap Reflector! Now I copy the effect of your Mirror Force!" Drake smirked triumphantly as the two startled monsters stumbled into the barrier that was put up by a massive mirror, his Trap Reflector which allow him to copy the effect of any trap card in his opponent's cemetery.   
  
The two monsters let out eerie howls as the barrier forced them backwards, sending them tumbling end over end across the ground. The hit the ground hard in front of Taichi's feet and exploded into dust. Upon their destruction Taichi's own device activated, but the psychotic duelist didn't even flinch. All he did was grit his teeth and stand their as the veins in his neck turned black as the macrobiotics spread into his body.   
  
Even when the device had deactivated he continued to grit his teeth, but it seemed to Drake to not be caused by any sort of pain...but rather by anger. His thoughts were confirmed when Taichi turned his eyes upon Drake, and a black cloud erupted from him, becoming a dark aura that swirled around him like a swarm of locusts.   
  
As he watched golden streams of energy burst forth from the dark aura and swam around it, like large golden snakes caught in a maelstrom. He recognized that power, the power of the Millennium Items. Worse yet, there were six streams total, and he was certain that the six streams meant Taichi had the power of six of the Millennium Items.   
  
The maelstrom of dark power whipped Taichi's hair about his head, clearly revealing a blazing red eye upon his forehead. Within the duelist's eyes Drake could see the same eyes burning like fire, a symbol of the twisted Millennium power that he possessed. All told it was a power greater then anything Drake had ever believed possible, and the magical senses he was starting to control told him that the power was easily enough to shatter the island they stood upon with plenty of power left over.   
  
"YOU! HOW DARE YOU?! YOU WOULD DARE TO MANIPULATE ME?! FOR MILLENNIUM I HAVE TWISTED YOUR PATHETIC SPECIES' ENTIRE HISTORY TOWARDS THE DARKEST PATH POSSIBLE FOR ONE SINGLE GOAL, THE RESURRECTION OF MY MASTER AND THE END TO ALL THINGS!"   
  
Taichi thrust one arm forwards and a blast of dark energy slashed out like a cluster of blades, heading straight for Drake. He pulled upon his emotions to supplement the power of his disc as he erected a barrier in front of him. Despite the extent of the power he put into the barrier he was still barely able to hold back any of the force that Taichi was exerting, and it was becoming obvious that the blast was merely Taichi lashing out with a fraction of his power.   
  
"I POSSESS POWER BEYOND ANYTHING YOU HAVE EVER ENCOUNTERED, THE GREATEST POWER OF ALL, THE POWER TO DESTROY! YOU, A PATHETIC MORTAL, DARED TO MANIPULATE ME, AND FOR THAT SLIGHT I SHALL MAKE SURE YOU SUFFER GREATER TORMENT THEN I HAD ORIGINALLY INTENDED! I WILL NOT GIVE YOU THE REPRIEVE OF DESTROYING YOUR SOUL, INSTEAD I SHALL LOCK IT INTO A CYCLE OF ETERNAL TORMENT, DAMNING YOU TO FOREVER SUFFER!"  
  
A second blast forced Drake's entire body backwards, the barrier barely holding up as he slid foot by foot, struggling to keep his balance. If he lost his balance he'd fall, and that would make him lose the concentration he needed to stay alive under the enormous assault that Taichi was exerting.   
  
To Drake's surprise the assault ended abruptly, and Taichi's face settled into an angry snarl, as opposed to the confident amusement he had been displaying before hand. The confident amusement that he had displayed in each of his duels so far, the confident amusement that he had while he took Kirani's soul, while he took Shadi's last breath.   
  
Taichi, the monster that he was, was no longer amused. That simple fact might have frightened someone else, but knowing that Taichi was taking him serious was enough for Drake. He wanted Taichi to be trying his hardest when he lost. Only then would he be satisfied. He had to break Taichi, because nothing would please him more then to see all that confidence vanish, and to see the bastard lose all heart and become a worthless shell of a being.   
  
"I hope you're ready Drake, because now its back to business. Because you sent two of my monster's to the cemetery in this turn, I can revive two monsters in their place using my placed magic card, Revival Corpses. Now rise, Skull Knight #2(1000/1200), both of you!" One of Taichi's cards flipped up, revealing a graveyard with torn soil with various skeletal hands reaching up. Drake grinned as two plots of ground exploded as two skeletal knights rose up and stood before Taichi, crouching in defense.   
  
Drake smirked as he drew his next card and then started on his strategy with his key card. The vortex of his Mystic Funnel started glowing, and a massive brown-backed card forced its way out, moving towards Drake. He grinned and ejected a card from his cemetery at the same time as the massive card shrunk down and merged with his hand. "Now the effect of my Mystic Funnel comes into play. During each of my standby phases I can select one magic card in my cemetery and put it in my hand. So you'll have to greet my card again as I set one card face down. Next I'll set a monster in defense mode."  
  
He looked over Taichi's field, at his single face down card and his two monsters. The Skull Knights weren't exactly impressive monsters, and unfortunately for him both of them were in defense mode. If he used Change of Heart he could take control of one and switch it into attack mode, but the defensive strength of the Skull Knight#2 was greater then its attack, so controlling one wouldn't accomplish anything. There wasn't anything else to do this turn. "End."  
  
Taichi didn't even bother looking down at his deck as he ejected it and drew two cards from the bottom of his deck. It was figuratively like taking power from the depths of Hell, represented by the depths of Taichi's deck. "I'll activate my face down card, Guardian of Demon God. By discarding one magic card from my hand I can set one trap card from my cemetery onto the field."   
  
He deposited a card in his cemetery and a card appeared in front of him, and to Drake's mind it was obvious that the card was Mirror Force. That fact would make this more difficult, but not impossible. At least it would have... "Sadly I must tell you what card I've set, and its Demon Catapult. But I'll give you more to worry about with this second face down card. Now shall come the creature that will end you. Say goodbye to my pathetic knights, and hello to Invader of Darkness(2900/2500)!"  
  
A black cloaked figure emerged from a card, and stepped down onto the field. Next to him appeared another skeletal knight as the final Skull Knight#2 was summoned from Taichi's deck. To Drake's surprise Taichi's newest monster waved one clawed arm towards Drake's face down card, and glowing chords wrapped around it. "What the hell?"  
  
"Obviously your face down card you returned from Mystic Funnel, its quite obviously Trap Reflector. But it's a quick-play magic card, and no quick-play magic cards can be used while Invader of Darkness remains face-up on the field. That power will give me the advantage as I use him to attack your face down monster!"   
  
Drake cast up a barrier to protect himself from the force of the swipe of the Invader's claws, a single sweep that crushed his monster and sent particles flying towards Drake. In his weakened state the barrier was barely able to keep him safe, and even then it didn't protect him from the pain that erupted throughout his body as the device activated.   
  
An interminable time later he was able to focus well enough to see the skeletal knight coming in with a sweep of his blade, ready to deal serious damage to Drake. But Drake didn't have such an ignominious end in mind. Instead he activated the ability of his destroyed monster, Apprenticeship Magician. The skeleton slashed its sword through his new face down monster, Magician of Faith. Drake managed to take a card from his cemetery before the pain kicked in, leaving him a shuddering mess.   
  
Drake grimaced in pain as he forced himself to act, drawing a card and then taking a card from his cemetery by his Mystic Funnel's effect. Looking down at the cards in his hand he began to formulate a plan that might very well be able to finish Taichi off once and for all. "To start off I'll play Pot of Greed, giving me a total of five cards."  
  
He sent his drawing card to the grave and then picked two cards up off the top of his deck. He looked down at them and his plan truly came together. He now had all he needed to put a stop to Taichi once and for all, within this hand of five cards. "I'll set a single card face down, and then I'll remove Apprenticeship Magician and Magician of Faith from the cemetery to special summon this...Chaos Sorcerer(2300/2000)!"   
  
The air in front of Drake rippled, and like a mirage the Chaos Sorcerer shimmered into view, leaving behind a wake of disrupted air. The purple skinned sorcerer stood strong in his black garb, each hand glowing with the chaotic energies that he wielded with incredible effectiveness. Drake had three cards left in his hand, and already he had summoned what was perhaps his deadliest monster.   
  
"Now I'll play Change of Heart to take control of Invader of Darkness!" The hybrid creature burst from the card and collided with the black cloaked creature's chest, knocking it backwards slightly. Twin glowing eyes peered out from underneath the Invader's cowl as it rose up off the ground and floated over to Drake's side, settling down next to Chaos Sorcerer.   
  
"It doesn't stop there Taichi, because now I'm going to play Double Spell! I discard one magic card from my hand, and copy your Monster Reborn!" Taichi remained blank-faced as the fanciful ankh card appeared on the field and its magic activated. Rising up from the grave was Dark Ruler Hades, as deadly as ever and ready to kill. Drake's hand was now empty, and now he had the opening he had been hoping for.   
  
"Chaos Sorcerer, destroy his Skull Knight#2. Then Invader and Hades will follow up with a direct attack. Finish Taichi off once and for all!" Invader of Darkness and Dark Ruler Hades flanked the Chaos Sorcerer as it charged its chaotic energies and cast them out to destroy, the two demons waiting for their chance to strike. The attack committed everything Drake had to this single strike, because if it didn't work then he'd have two monsters open to an attack by the stronger Invader of Darkness.   
  
"Chain with By Demons Be Driven (A.N.: I don't own Pantera or any of their songs. Though I do have a few on my play list)! I sacrifice Skull Knight#2 to negate your attack, end your battle phase, and destroy all non demon sub-type monsters on your field! So say goodbye to your strategy!" One of Taichi's two face down cards flipped up, revealing a human grimacing as it trudged forwards under the lash of a whip carried by Dark Ruler Hades.   
  
A giant whip erupted from the card and swept across the field, stopping the three monsters in their tracks. Skull Knight#2 grabbed up the whip and then snapped it sharply, creating a whip-crack sound as the whip broke the sound barrier. The Chaos Sorcerer grunted as it was destroyed by the lash, and moments afterwards the skeletal knight followed suit.   
  
The pain hit Drake hard and fast, so fast that he didn't even know it had struck until he found himself struggling back into consciousness, blood dripping from his mouth. He drew further upon the power of his disc to give himself the strength to stand, even as his body continued to weaken. What was worse was that his power reserves were almost completely drained, and using life energy would just quicken the process. He was in a jam, and there was no way out of it.   
  
Taichi's amused grin reappeared as he drew his two cards, Invader of Darkness now back under his control. The source of his amusement wasn't obvious to Drake until his foggy mind was able to wrap around the concept Taichi had mentioned earlier. Life point damage was the most painful of all under the ministrations of the device, and he was about to lose a monster and life points.   
  
"I'll set a card face down, and then I'll go in for the kill. Invader of Darkness, Blades of Blood!" Drake gasped as the cloaked monster slashed its sharp claws across its belly, drawing black blood to drip down the claws. The creature pulled back its arm and slashed with it, sending arcs of that black blood towards Dark Ruler Hades.   
  
A golden barrier burst up in front of Drake as the blood blades sliced Hades into gruesome little quarters that dropped to the ground with a messy sound. The blades hadn't stopped after Hades' death, and they were coming right for him.   
  
Drake pushed his last energy reserves into the barrier, knowing that those blades were real enough that they could cut him down if they hit. The blades struck the barrier and stopped...for about a second. Then his energy ran dry and the blades slashed through his barrier and surged right towards him.   
  
Drawing on his own physical strength he reacted and hurled himself to the side, desperately hoping to avoid the blades. He was mostly successful, as he avoided nearly all of them. However one of them managed to catch him in the side, slicing straight through the flesh. The force of it sent him into a spin as he tumbled through the air.   
  
He crashed down on his side, shoulder shifting with the impact. Drake's scream of agony as his shoulder blade broke and a few of his ribs shattered was enough to let all the other people in the tower that the duel was not going well. Drake's agonized screams only grew louder as the device tortured him with a new level of pain beyond anything that he had encountered so far. It was utterly beyond description. (DLP: 3550)   
  
Taichi announced the end of his turn, and waited, watching Drake lie there. But there was no response. Drake was completely out of it, and it was doubtful that he was alive. In a few minutes he'd be sure, and then he'd be able to declare himself the winner. This had been all to easy.   
  
*****************************  
  
Drake stood on the streets of Domino, facing off against his first Battle City opponent, Lucas Braunham, the German Champion of Duel Monsters. So far he had been faring well, though the advantage currently rested in Lucas' hands. But Drake was confident, he knew that he could win the duel.   
  
"I'll start my turn by using Graceful Charity to draw three cards and then discard two. Now watch and learn as I revive my Dark Magician with Monster Reborn!" With a bright flash the purple robed magician appeared on the field, facing opposite of the Twin Mages, two brown-robed little magicians who used their joint power to support each other, creating a force to be reckoned with.   
  
"Now I'll flip my face down monster, Magician of Faith, to recover Megamorph! Because my life points are lower I can equip it to my magician to double his points a second time. Lets end this Lucas. Dark Magic Attack!"   
  
The field inverted colors for a brief moment, and the Twin Mages exploded, leaving no trace behind, and taking with them what remained of Lucas' life points. Drake had just won his first Battle City duel, and he had done it all on his own. He didn't need anybody's help to be powerful.  
  
***********************************  
  
Drake was on a different street of Battle City this time, and his opponent was now an old acquaintance named Kensai. They were dueling for the stakes of the finals, the winner would get the necessary locator cards to reach the finals, and the loser would be left with nothing.   
  
Drake was now forced to face Kensai's strongest monster, and his favorite at that. An incredibly powerful force called Chaos Soldier-Messenger of Creation. Its overwhelming strength and its deadly effects had already dropped Drake to a measly nine hundred life points.   
  
"Damn, how did he manage to get a hold of a monster like that? It makes the situation practically hopeless!" Drake felt his confidence slip away, shattering into pieces. He was about to lose to someone that he knew he was better then. It just didn't seem possible that his Battle City escapades could end here, before he managed to prove his strength to everyone. He had to get stronger, and to do so he had to win this, but there was no way left to win!   
  
"Don't you dare give up Drake. If you beat me then you can certainly beat this amateur. If you lose then you'll become a disgrace to me and every other duelist you've ever beaten. How would the other people you've beaten in Battle City feel if they knew you were losing hope just because you were facing off against a strong monster? I know you're stronger then this Drake, I believe that, I know it."   
  
Standing behind Drake was Kirani, her dark hair whipping in the wind, framing her beautiful face. Her confident smile gave him strength, made him feel like he could do this, made him believe that he had what it took to become stronger then he already was. It felt like her smile was just for him, and he wouldn't let her down.   
  
Within a few moves Drake managed to regain the lead and defeat Taichi using the two cards he had won so far in Battle City. Mirror Wall and Twin Mages. He had won his way into the Battle City finals, and he had done it with the help of an amazing woman. A friend who he could trust, and might one day be able to call more then a friend. He had been wrong, he needed her to be strong.   
  
***********************************  
  
Taichi's breath left him as Drake started moving. Worse yet, surges of energy were sweeping into the room and into Drake's body. He sent his senses out and traced those bits of energy, finding where they originated. He grimaced as he found all those who knew him, whether friend or not, supporting him with their feelings, displaying their trust in him, their confidence. Their power and their emotions surged through the Millennium Disc, giving strength back to Drake.   
  
The punk duelist slowly pushed himself up off the ground, ignoring the pain that lanced through him as he did so. He was able to do so because of the huge amount of energy that was surging through his body, creating a golden glow that surrounded him, giving him a heavenly appearance. He was regaining his power, regaining his will to continue.   
  
Taichi grimaced as he saw Drake move to continue the duel. This wasn't supposed to happen, Drake couldn't just suddenly recharge himself and continue on. The end was supposed to be the end. If Drake wasn't willing to admit that, Taichi would just have to make him lose hope.   
  
Drake's mind flickered with faint voices, voices of those he knew. Serenity, Kensai, and others, all of them. They told him that it was hopeless, that if he continued to duel he would lose, and if he continued to duel he would die. There was no chance, he should surrender while he still had the chance. He had to face the music and admit defeat.   
  
Drake grinned, revealing teeth stained by his own blood. He stood tall and strong, the golden glow that surrounded his body expanding as his determination settled in, giving him the full strength provided by those that had feelings for him, that trusted him to win this. That knew he could. And with their help he knew he could win as well.   
  
"It may seem hopeless to some Taichi, but not to me. A real man faces the music, even if he doesn't like the tune. The question is, are you a real man, or just a walking corpse? I guess I'll find out when the final note is played. Now lets duel!"   
  
Drake confidently drew a card from the top of his deck, trusting that whatever the card was it would allow him to recover and help him move towards victory. His friends, his opponents, even the person he could possibly call his rival, they were all there, adding their strength to his. With their supportive power he could accomplish anything.   
  
Drake opened his mouth to announce his move, and discovered that the air he had used to speak just moments before was now no longer there. He tried to draw in breath, but discovered that all he could do was gasp as air passed into his body, but didn't remain. His draw had also reopened the wound on his side which had closed briefly because of the power he had drawn from his friends.   
  
He tried to force the words out, to announce his move, to get the air he needed. He drew on the power given to him by the people he cared about and the people who cared about him, but still nothing. He tried again to speak, but all that came up was blood, bubbling forth from his throat, welling up from his gut.   
  
Eyes widening in shock the once confident duelist looked down at himself, discovering dozens of little red dots peeking through his shirt, quickly spreading to turn his gray shirt red. The wound on his side was making it work quicker. He gulped, trying to gather air, and discovered the pain in his ribs as the power started to fly from him.   
  
Things were becoming blurry, the power was becoming hard to hold onto, he couldn't focus. He tried again to speak, then tried to draw air. Still all that came up was blood, and the pain that followed it. Steadily the pain increased as the power left him, his body no longer able to support it. He felt the weakness and tried to hold strong, but his knees couldn't support him.   
  
He didn't notice falling, but he suddenly became aware that he was doubled over, clutching his stomach with his knees on the ground. A small pool of blood was forming around him, some of it dripping from his lips, other parts of it coming from the various wounds in his side. As the pool grew things became foggier and foggier.   
  
Taichi's insane laughter cut through his foggy brain, straight to the most aware parts, the parts that still drew upon the remaining power that had been provided to him. "Don't you understand? That fall you took shattered your ribs, and the pieces of bone ripped through your flesh and punctured your lungs. All that power you were getting from your friends? Useless! Not even a million times as much power as you had been given could undo the fact that your body is mortal. Its all over!"   
  
Drake found himself face down in a steadily growing pool of his own blood, the world going dark around him. He could no longer hear Taichi's laughter, he could barely remember his own name. He had only time for one last thought before the world went dark. 'Kirani...forgive me, but I tried. At least I tried.'  
  
Daisuke Ihachi, sixteen years of age, holder of the Millennium Disc, a fighter and a lover. He had bargained his life in order to restore the life to a woman he cared about, to save that woman and a few others from the fate that had befallen his beloved sister. He had gambled with his life, and he had lost.   
  
Daisuke Ihachi, sixteen years of age, holder of the Millennium Disc, fighter and lover, was dead.   
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: None! Ha! Think what you like!   
  
Original Cards  
  
Drake: Trap Reflector, Mystic Funnel, Instant Replay  
  
Taichi: Demon Fallout, Demon Catapult, Treasure From Hell, Peer Pressure, Big Bad Voodoo, Twilight Renewal, Treasure of Demon God, Revival Corpses, Guardian of Demon God, By Demons Be Driven 


	20. Rising Darkness: Gods of Light and Dark

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.   
  
Author's Note: Ummm....none I guess.   
  
"You can't trample infidels when you're a tortoise. I mean, all you could do is give them a meaningful look."   
  
° Small Gods, Terry Pratchett   
  
Chapter Nineteen: Rising Darkness-Gods of Light and Dark  
  
Serenity was sitting on the same bed she had been on when Drake left. However, now she was leaning against her brother who had an arm wrapped comfortingly around her. She was aware that Tristan and Duke had both offered, but during this time of great stress she needed the comfort of her brother, her family.   
  
Autumn was sitting in the chair beside the bed, and Mai was hovering over the younger girl, ready to help if she felt weak. Ryu stood in the corner, solemn and brooding as ever. A grim Kensai sat next to Kirani, whose bed had been uncovered once Drake left. He was holding her hand and speaking to her in quiet tones, despite knowing that she couldn't hear him. Nobody knew what he was saying.  
  
Yugi and Dalin were outside with Kaiba, discussing something that they said was incredibly important. Serenity was sure that it had something to do with Taichi, but exactly what they were saying she didn't know. Tristan and Duke of course sat on her opposite side, ready to comfort her if necessary. Their commitment was actually starting to get eerie, especially since the guy who was probably their biggest competition was in a life or death situation.   
  
A sudden chill went through the room as a voice cried out to them. To say that it was a voice was wrong, it was more like a feeling of despair. Everybody's eyes turned upwards to stare at the ceiling. The feeling of despair came from far above them, the dueling arena at the top of Duel Tower.   
  
Yugi, Dalin, and Kaiba burst into the room and Dalin was the first to speak. "Did everyone else feel that?" Everyone nodded at once, and again they turned their eyes up to the ceiling. A dark foreboding feeling pierced its way into her heart, and the grim looks on everyone's faces said that they were feeling the same thing. Something was wrong, and Drake was in trouble.  
  
"We can't just sit here while he's up there suffering! We have to do something! We have to help him!" As she spoke she jumped up from the bed, struggling to show everyone just how determined she was. The dead looks that everyone gave her said to her all she needed to know. They didn't think there was anything that could be done. They thought it was over.   
  
"Drake's a fighter. He's said it himself. In fact, one of the first things that Kirani told me the first time we talked was that above all else, Drake is a fighter. He never gives up, no matter how tough the situation seems. He's putting himself on the line because he's willing to give everything for one woman, just that one person! If we give up on him now, it'd be like giving up on ever beating Taichi, of ever making things right again! He needs us, so I for one am not going to give up on him!"   
  
The words sent a stirring of heat through the air. One by one the group's thoughts turned to Drake, on their impressions of him, of their thoughts on the duel, of their thoughts on Taichi. One by one they started to believe, they started to know. This duel was not just Drake against Taichi, it was all of them against Taichi. Right now Drake was the representative of their hopes and their dreams, and if he failed then everything was over.   
  
Ryu was the first of the others to speak, and he did so, punctuating his words by hefting his gauntleted fist. "Serenity's right. Drake doesn't give up. He's not that kind of person. Even in his rough and tumble state he went up there to face Taichi, knowing that his chances of winning were slim. He needs our support, and I say we give it to him. In fact I'm going to offer him some of my own strength...because if what he's fighting for is wrong, then I don't want to be right!"   
  
They knew he spoke of Hinata, they knew he felt responsible for letting her down. Now he was going to support Drake in a similar battle to restore the soul of a person he cared for. If Drake won, Hinata's soul would also be restored, and Ryu had to support that. More then that, he understood Drake now. He felt that he truly knew him, knew the kind of darkness that Drake fought against. The battle's he fought against himself. They had a lot in common.   
  
The group's attention turned to the ceiling and their thoughts projected their confidence in Drake, their commitment to him. They gave him their strongest feelings, and with that came pieces of themselves. Those in the room with magic contributed an added share, bolstering Drake's magical prowess.   
  
The response was not immediate. But within a minute they got a clear cut answer. Drake was alive! Alive in a way none of them had thought possible. Even those without magic could feel the blazing power that swarmed off of him, the raw energy of life. Their essences mixed with his and created a glowing life that ripped apart the despair and unveiled a more powerful feeling. Hope.  
  
The waited, they hoped, and then it changed. Suddenly they could no longer feel that bright life that was Drake, could no longer feel the connection between themselves and the fighter. Dalin calmly assured them that since they had felt nothing negative through the bond, that it was mostly likely Taichi's dark powers that were interfering with what they felt.   
  
They were happy hearing this, and Kensai, still at Kirani's side, whispered into the comatose girl's ear. Now Serenity knew what he was doing, he was trying to make himself more confident by feeding off the hope that soon she would be back. With their power filling Drake they were now certain that this wouldn't take long.   
  
They noticed at the very last moment the dark fog that had seeped in through the cracks in the floor, through the ceiling, through the door. The very same dark fog that was a physical manifestation of the link between this realm and the Shadow Realm. They stepped backwards, forming a tight circle with magic users at key points, ready to defend themselves from whatever came.   
  
The fog blurred across the floor, streaked up the bed, and then merged together into a black cloud that hung above the bed right in front of them. They split the circle and took places around the bed so they could all get a clear look at what was happening. The magic users were still ready, but they didn't predict an attack.   
  
Suddenly Taichi's face appeared in front of them, then the image expanded to show the darkness around him and his body from the top of his head down to the middle of his chest. He seemed perfectly fine, uninjured, but he was grinning maliciously at them...or maybe perhaps them. Serenity's first thought was that Taichi wanted to taunt them by showing them images of the duel, and that seeing Taichi meant that it was his turn.   
  
Her thoughts were shattered by the sound of Taichi's voice, clear as day but as dark as night. The tone of his voice was slightly angry, but also highly amused. It twisted the two incompatible emotions together in a way that only the insane can do. "Tell me mortals. Did you choose your savior in Drake? Were you counting on him coming to the rescue? Is this the face of your savior?!"   
  
He punctuated his last words by jerked his hand up into view, and revealing what he was holding. His fingers were twined in Drake's hair, suspending the boy's limp body on its knees so that it was about chest level with Taichi. Drake's face and hair was bloody, and the little they could see of his body was similarly bloodied.   
  
Serenity cried out in shock and turned away, burying her face against her brother's chest. Joey wrapped his arms around her, holding her close. As for himself, he was unable to look away from the beaten body of Drake Ihachi. He could hear Serenity sobbing against his chest, mumbling things in between sobs. "Not fair...it is...he shouldn't be...why'd you die? You promised me..."  
  
"Your savior is nothing! He is merely human, just like the rest of you! The only one among you worth my time is Dalin, merely because of the presence of the Devourer within him. The rest of you are merely cattle to be led to the slaughter. So come to me, so the slaughter can begin. And it will begin with you Dalin, as I become the one who devours the Devourer!"   
  
With his last words Taichi shoved Drake forwards and they all clearly heard the sickening crunch as his body crashed into the ground. Shouted words of anger became incoherent curses as the group raged at the seemingly invincible demon. Taichi was an inhuman monster, and he had to be dealt with in a manner suiting for an inhuman monster. He had to die.   
  
The sudden sound of laughter cut through their curses and Serenity's sobbing. Had it been Taichi they would have been content to continue cursing at him. However the laughter they heard was different then any laugh they had heard before, and none of them recognized who was laughing.   
  
They looked around, trying to find the source, but it was Taichi who gave them the answer. "Impossible! I killed you!" The laughter merely continued, uncaring of Taichi's incredulity. The group's eyes turned to the image in front of them, and watched as Drake's body was lifted up off the ground by some invisible force. It was from Drake's dead lips that the laughter echoed, but there was no sign that Drake was conscious of his actions. By all accounts he was dead.   
  
The darkness that created their images flickered as a golden light erupted from Drake's Millennium Disc, and an enormous power started emanating from the body. It was a power as great as what Drake had displayed against Kirani, but this time it was completely controlled. Soon Drake's body was engulfed by that display of golden power.   
  
"Killed me? You can't kill the immortal. Oh wait...you meant the mortal didn't you? Well yes, he's dead. Unless the definition of dead has changed in the past millennia or so. Heart stopped, brain function ceased, really freaking pale...yep. I'd say he's about as fucking dead as you can get...unless you count getting blown into pieces."   
  
A slice of black energy cut through the golden power, and it opened up like a blossoming flower. As the light dimmed it soon became clear that Drake was no longer around. For now his appearance was completely different. Rather...her appearance.   
  
Standing right in front of Taichi, and therefore (in image at least) right in front of them, was the russet-brown haired girl that they had identified as Drake's sister...if she had just suddenly dropped about four years and gained a shit load of evil. The woman that stood in front of them was attractive and fit Ryu's description to a T. The nasty smirk that she displayed was nearly proof enough that this woman was no good.   
  
Taichi's face was a mix of shock and outrage at her sudden appearance. Apparently Taichi didn't like what he saw. Which isn't surprising when you've just seen a corpse rise from the dead and become a fully alive, and apparently unharmed, woman. "You arrogant bitch. You get your body slashed apart and yet you still come back for more? I guess when your body ceased to function you decided instead of sticking around in an immortal corpse you'd sit in the disc and wait for a suitable host huh?"  
  
The woman smirked and brushed invisible dust off her jeans, glancing down at her DD2 briefly. Then she looked directly at the screen and made a waving motion. The fog vanished, leaving them all to wonder what was going on.  
  
********************************************  
  
"As a matter of fact, that's exactly what I did. I finally got a new host when that moron Shadi found my reincarnation and brought her to Egypt. She got the item and I transferred to her body. But I found out that the gods had a sense of humor. They stuck me in a virtual corpse! Her body was too weak for me to do anything, and she lacked great magical power. She was worthless to me."  
  
Taichi grinned his amused grin and watched as the woman wandered over to where Drake had fallen in a pool of his own blood. She stooped down and collected the cards he had dropped, cleaning them with a burst of her magical powers. His amusement however, was for his new understanding. Now he knew exactly where Drake had gained all that power from. It was from her! She had been the source of that enormous power the whole time!   
  
"Wait...don't tell me...I've got it! After a while you got bored of just sitting around with a worthless host and you decided to stage her injury. You manipulated her so she'd be stuck in a coma while you left her body. And then in that last moment you gave the Millennium Disc to Drake, so you could use his body!"  
  
She grinned and drew a card from the top of the deck, then ejected a card from the cemetery slot. She looked down briefly at the cards, and Taichi started to wonder what she was up to. "Got it in one. But I discovered like all these mortals have, that he's a fighter first, last, and above all. The jerk's mental defenses were huge. Turns out the emotional damage he had gotten earlier in life had only been strengthened by his sister's coma. I had thought a bit of insanity would make him easier to control, since that's how it would normally work. But instead he got stronger! His mental defenses became virtually unbreakable, and I only managed to take over a few times before this."  
  
Taichi grimaced at this, having discovered for himself that this was the case. His attempt at breaking Drake had only made the boy stronger, a reaction that was completely unusual for a person. Of all things and all people, he supposed that the only thing that set Drake apart from anyone else was that little thing. "You must have been bored sitting in that Disc, unable to manipulate anyone, knowing that I was doing the real work, manipulating the entire world while all you could do was play mental tiddly-winks."  
  
He laughed as she looked up from her cards and casually flipped him the bird. Apparently she was up with the current lingo and body gestures. So she must have spent time exploring Drake's soul room and memories, finding out all sorts of things. "You know something Taichi, go to Hell. Its not my fault that I'm not a creature that has no true body. I need a body and I can't just go out and possess one like you can. So seriously, go fuck yourself."  
  
"Still a bitch I see, even after all these millennia. Damn you really knew how to piss me off back then, but now...nothing you're nothing but chump change. You got yourself 'killed', and that's enough humor for me so I can forget all those times you irritated me. Now...say, what do I call you now?"   
  
The russet haired woman leaned her head onto one hand as she stood there, thinking about the question. While they talked, Taichi was certain that Dalin and the others would be heading up to confront him. Of course when they entered they'd find themselves locked in a trap, where none could escape.   
  
"Well, definitely don't call me Drake. In this time, I think my old name won't work. So I guess now...well just call me Ihachi for the moment. Anyways...are we gonna get this out of the way or not? I'd like to kill you and rob you of your power before the day is over."   
  
Taichi burst out laughing at this declaration, realizing at last that she hadn't changed in over thirty-five hundred years. She was still as annoying as she had been then, and just as power hungry. The greedy bitch never could have enough power, and that greed was what got her immortality, and got her body crushed to a pulp, leaving her bodiless. "You think you can defeat me? Especially when you're under my rules? Pathetic! Your host was no challenge to me, and nor will you be. You both have the same pathetic deck, so I won't have any issues crushing you."  
  
The Shadow Realm flickered around them as their respective dark powers added to its negative energy. Ihachi smirked widely and held out one hand above one of her face down cards, the one not held tight by energy bonds. It flipped up, revealing a machine in magician's clothing, holding a mirror. "Mechanical Magic Mirror! Copy his Monster Reborn!"   
  
The image of the ankh appeared in the mirror and suddenly Chaos Sorcerer appeared in all its glory, power ready to unleash at any moment. With its deadly magic Taichi was now at something of a disadvantage. "Now I play Pot of Greed!"   
  
Greedily she drew two more cards from her deck and looked down at them. She flashed him a smirk and then slammed one of the cards onto the field. As she did so a robed magician appeared, all in black, holding a small staff. "Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700)! This beefy attacker will crush your life points once I get rid of your Invader. Now watch this move. Chaos Sorcerer, BANISH IT!"   
  
The chaos magic user closed his eyes and started drawing in the chaotic energies that fueled his specific brand of magic. A purple ball of light formed in one hand and a white ball of light in the other. He then combined the energies together and hurled the new chaos magic at the Invader.   
  
The dark creature slashed at the offending ball of energy, but all it managed to do was quicken its doom. The instant its claws touched that chaos ball the Invader turned white and then vanished. There was no trace left of it whatsoever. It had been banished, removed from the game.   
  
"Next, Skilled Dark Magician, attack directly!" The robed magician raised his staff and aimed it at Taichi, sending a stream of black magic at Taichi's defenseless body. The energy streaked across the field, coming within inches of frying Taichi, but the magician's aim was thrown off by what happened immediately after Ihachi declared her attack.   
  
"Go, Genocide Chains!" The ground around the magician exploded as pitch black barbed chains swarmed out and surrounded it. The magician panicked and tried to turn and swat the chains away, but they moved to quickly for him and acted the instant he did. In moments the chains had bound the magician, keeping him from moving and digging into his flesh, letting his blood run red against the ground.   
  
Taichi grinned wickedly as the effect of the nano-machine kicked in. Ihachi grasped at her throat, gasping in pain as the nano-tendrils wormed their way through her body, taking over piece after piece. "At the end of your second turn Genocide Chains will drag your spellcaster into hell, removing it from the game and dealing damage to your life points equal to its attack strength. For the moment it can't attack, switch modes, or be sacrificed. Enjoy the gift!"  
  
Ihachi grimaced and slipped a card into one of the activation slots. She smirked as her deck started glowing blue, and moments later a card slid out of it and into her hand. "I wont have to wait to see my spellcaster get dragged to Hell. Instead I can play Magical Well to grab a magic card from my deck. Next turn I'll use it to get rid of the chains. So go ahead and take your useless turn."  
  
Taichi grinned as he drew two cards from the bottom of his deck. He wasn't grinning just because of his cards, but because the trap was about to be sprung. At this very moment those fools were standing packed into the elevator, waiting to get out on his floor. But when they did they'd get a big surprise. "I'll start by summoning the cuddly Kuriboh(300/200) in attack mode! Next I'll activate Demon Catapult to launch him and destroy that card in your hand!"   
  
The cute little brown furball squealed in terror as the corpse catapult rose up from beneath it. It was too small to clamber out of the catapult's cup. It let out one final shriek as the crank was released and the catapult sent the little furry critter flying like a brown missile. Ihachi sneered and batted it aside, grimacing when the card she had placed in her hand was sent to the cemetery.   
  
"For my next trick, the magic card Called From the Depths! Watch in wonder as a monster that was removed from the game is special summoned to the field. In fact...I think he's an old friend of yours!" A black vortex opened in the ground, and from it emerged the cowled figure of Invader of Darkness. At its appearance the magical chains wrapped around Ihachi's face down card once again, keeping her from using it.   
  
"Now my Invader, cut that pathetic sorcerer to ribbons!" Ihachi got the distinct impression that underneath its mask the demon was smiling. It clenched its fist and then shot forward at incredible speed, slashing at the Chaos Sorcerer with its claws. The sorcerer raised its hands in defense, casting a defensive shield up around it, but the invader's claws ribbed the shield apart and continued to slice the sorcerer apart. The spray of blood that followed coincided with Ihachi's groans of pain as the device dealt further damage to her. (ILP: 2950)  
  
Ihachi snatched at her next card and then followed that up by returning a card from her cemetery following the effect of Mystic Funnel. She looked at her two cards, then back at her current monster. Slowly a smirk spread across her attractive features, as she came up with a plan. "This should be interesting. First off I'll play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Genocide Chains."  
  
The magic card appeared on the field and sent a bolt of lightning at the chained spellcaster. The surge of electricity shattered the chains, freeing the magician at last. It also gave Taichi a clear view of his shoulder pads, both of which had glowing orbs. "Interested yet? It gets better. Activate magic card, Soul Drain! I can remove one monster from the cemetery to decrease one of your monster's by that monster's attack strength. HAHAHAHAHAHAHA!"  
  
Taichi's eyes widened as a spirit form of Chaos Magician rose up from the ground. He raised his arms as it shot forward across the field to pass through the invader. The demonic creature let out a harsh growl as the spirit form stripped it of most of its power. (IoD: 500)  
  
Ihachi reached down and grabbed the card on her field as the third and final orb on her spellcaster lit up, readying it for its effect. "I sacrifice my Skilled Dark Magician and its three magic counters to special summon...Dark Magician(2500/2100)!" The black robed magician vanished and in a flash of light it was replaced by its superior, the purple robed and fully trained Dark Magician, one of the strongest of all spellcasters.   
  
"Isn't this interesting. You've got no cards to protect your once powerful Invader of Darkness. I guess now is the time for me to take the lead. Dark Magician...Dark Magic Attack!" The magician raised one arm and thrust it, palm outwards, towards the invader. The invader inverted colors and shattered, causing Taichi to let out a cry of pain as his life points took a swift nose dive. (TLP: 2000)   
  
Taichi drew his two cards and looked them up and down before turning his gaze back to the field. Now the stage was about to be set for the ultimate victory, the proof of his might. And the idiots had just walked into his trap. "Starting now, this duel is all mine. I will even defeat the might of God! Activate Hellish Accountant!"  
  
Ihachi grimaced, knowing she had no duplicate of Dark Magician to summon, so she'd be forced to draw cards until she got a monster to summon. Worse yet, all the other cards she drew would be discarded. She started drawing as Taichi drew his three cards from the effect of his magic card. Her prospects grew worse as she went through card after card, both magic and trap, before finally coming across a monster. "I special summon Mystical Elf(800/2000) in defense mode."  
  
Taichi grinned and slapped a card on his field, which appeared as a horizontal brown-backed card, a defensive monster. It sat across from the blue skinned elfin woman who had her arms crossed over her chest as she sat on her haunches, waiting for a potential attack. "Now the magic card, Payment of Debt. Think of this as Pot of Greed's big brother, because I get to draw three cards at no cost!"  
  
His hand increased to six cards total, a fresh hand for him to work with. Whatever he used wouldn't be good for her chances, no hand advantage ever was. "I'll set three magic or trap cards down on my field, nearly filling up my quota. Now I am prepared for the downfall of God itself! Show me the power of your God of Light and then I will show you the power of my god...the God of Darkness, Exodia!"  
  
Ihachi snapped a card off the top of her deck and looked down at it. A victorious grin spread across her face as she looked over the field and back down at the card. She had just found the way to end this duel easily, and gain the ultimate power. She ejected a card from her cemetery and added it to her hand to complete her strategy.   
  
"When Drake said this card would keep coming back to get you, he was telling the truth. So here it is again, back by popular demand, Change of Heart!" The half breed shot out of its card and was absorbed into Taichi's defense card, which slowly drifted across the field, next to each of Ihachi's other monsters. Now was the time, now was when she would end his reign as strongest. Now she would take him down and gain the chance at the ultimate power! The power of a god!  
  
Grinning triumphantly she held up her remaining card up above her head, ready to place it on the DD2 as soon as she was ready. "The descent of this mighty creature will be heralded by burning winds and twisted lands. And with the coming of this horror all those who draw breath shall know the true meaning of eternal slumber!"   
  
With that proclamation she slammed the card down on the duel disk and watched as flames whipped around the two duelists, howling as a wind of flame. The ground around them rumbled and then broke apart as Ihachi's three monsters fell into the depths of Hell itself, consumed by its fires to feed the power of the coming beast. Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)  
  
The massive blue beast rose up on the field, towering above Taichi and his three face down cards, the only barrier between Ihachi and Taichi's life points. And a paltry barrier at that, with trap cards unable to effect Obelisk. "Its all over now! GOD HAND CRUSHER!"   
  
******************************************  
  
The instant the group departed the elevator they had been separated, surrounded only by the darkness of the Shadow Realm. Each of them was about to face something horrible, but for a few it would be worse. For those few, it would be beyond any sort of emotional pain you can imagine.   
  
Yami grimaced as he staggered through the darkness, trying to find his way back to his friends. Every few seconds he called at one of their names, alternating back and forth. He knew that he could defend himself with his magic, but the others had no such magic to protect themselves, and were in great danger.   
  
"Joey! Tea! Tristan! Duke! Anybody?!" A light chuckle alerted him to the presence of someone else in the shadows, and he whirled around to face the direction he had come from, only to find a shocking scene that had not been there when he passed. It hurt him just to see it.  
  
There, right in front of him, was a set of gallows. Hanging from those gallows were each of his friends, their faces purpled by the terrible force that had ripped the air from their bodies, bruised up their necks, and left them as hanging corpses. "NO!!!!!"  
  
Tears dripped from the corners of his eyes as he dropped to his knees in despair. This was impossible! How could he have lost his friends so soon? How could this have happened? His thoughts were cut off when something struck his shoulder, a light object that had no real weight.   
  
He opened his eyes and looked to his shoulder, discovering a length of rope, already tied in a hangman's knot. The chuckle from before sounded again, and he jerked his head up, finding the empty spot at the gallows. Standing on the back of a chair was Drake, face and body covered by his own blood. His eyes were blank white, lifeless orbs that seemed to pierce into Yami's soul. "What's this for? What's going on?"  
  
The body that was Drake grinned wickedly at him and pointed from his neck to the gallows above him. Then he slid a finger across his throat and jerked up with his hand, tilting his head to the side and making gagging sounds. Finally he threw back his head and laughed for nearly a minute. "What else? Its for you so you can do me like you did the rest of them."   
  
Yami's eyes widened in shock as Drake gestured to the rest of his friends on the gallows. The meaning of his words was obvious, but it was impossible. It was preposterous. How could he be at fault? "What are you talking about? I don't know how this happened but I had no part in it!"  
  
Yami turned away, certain that this was mere illusion, none of it real. However when he turned he found himself facing the gallows again, Drake standing above him. "Don't kid yourself Big Yugi, you knew all too well the dangers that were inherent in being an item possessor, the sort of things that would happen. You knew how dangerous the situation was, but still you brought them along. And so it was in that way that you hung your own friends."  
  
Yami stumbled backwards, and turned to run the other way. He didn't make it more then a foot because the gallows were once again in front of him, keeping him from going anywhere. "Its your destiny, you were the one destined to defeat the ancient evil. But you couldn't even beat Dalin! It was because of you that I had to face Taichi, if you had been more capable then this wouldn't have happened. So with your own hands you must place this rope around my neck, just as you did when you lost to Dalin!"  
  
"NO! I didn't, its not...I...I'm sorry, I just couldn't beat him. I couldn't win...I tried my hardest but I couldn't do it...I'm sorry!" Yami fell to his knees, pounding at the ground with his fists in frustration, knowing that there was no way to fix his mistakes. Drake was right, it was his fault, he was responsible for this.   
  
Yami let out a sharp cry as a length of rope settled around his neck. With a strong heave Drake tightened the noose around Yami's neck, squeezing the air from his lungs. He vainly trained to escape, clawing at the rope as Drake pulled him up bit by bit, and then tied the rope off to let Yami dangle.   
  
The corpse of Drake approached Yami and grabbed onto the rope, pulling the ancient Pharaoh face to face with him. The fetid breath reminiscent of grave soil wafted into Yami's nostrils, making him choke further. Drake's dead eyes stared directly into his, and he knew terror. "A little bit of advice Pharaoh. Always bury your dead with your own hands, else they come back to reek vengeance."  
  
********************************  
  
Dalin Imaki Sumatin stumbled through the darkness, trying to find the one who would be his opponent. He would finish Taichi once and for all so he could set everything right. Then he could rid himself of the terrible presence within that had incorporated itself as part of him. The demon spirit of Ammut, the Devourer of Souls.  
  
"TAICHI! You can't hide from me forever!" The item on his hand lit up the area around him with a bright silver glow, casting the darkness aside. However what he found was not what he had thought he would see. The ground around him was not ground, it was a mass of souls, writhing around his feet.   
  
He turned in a circle, desperately trying to escape the sea of souls he was caught in, souls that would most certainly consume him if given the chance. Caught amongst these souls he would soon lose his own soul and become like them, tortured souls forever in the cold grip of the Shadow Realm. These were the souls that had been sent to the Shadow Realm over the years, every last one of them.  
  
"It was always my duty to take the souls that were determined as evil and consume them, to make sure they didn't end up here. I consumed that darkness but was never affected by it, for I am a demon." The words were from Dalin's voice...but he had not spoken them.  
  
Dalin jerked around, bring his arm up in defense, ready to release a blast of magic on whatever came near him. All he could see, however, was a tall figure shrouded by the darkness. The shadows made it impossible for Dalin to see exactly what the person looked like, but the voice that was his came from that figure...and that frightened him.   
  
"Frightened of me? I don't see why. All that I am is the essence within you, the demon Ammut." The figure stepped into view, revealing Dalin's body, but it was the head that made it terrifying. The creature before him had an elongated neck, and a wide grinning mouth full of razor sharp teeth, it was unnatural because otherwise it was his face.   
  
"What do you want from me? Just tell me that!" Dalin jerked back in surprise as the head zoomed towards him, the neck getting longer as it did so. The mouth closed with a snap, inches away from Dalin's nose, causing him to stagger backwards in shock. In that instant Ammut acted, grabbed him by the shoulder and lifted him up so that they were faced to face with each other.  
  
"Want? From you? Absolutely nothing. I will simply continue to use your body until Taichi is defeated and the threat of the ancient one is gone. Then I shall leave your body. Of course when my essence exits your body it will tear your soul out with it. It is necessary for I require souls as power, and once I leave your body I will require that power to return to my home."  
  
Dalin started to struggle, attempting to force his way free from Ammut's grasp, but a second pair of strong hands grabbed him from behind, keeping him tightly ensnared. Then a head leaned close to his and a familiar voice whispered in his ear. It was Drake. "Souls are a necessary source of life, as is blood. But souls don't make life, they just make the person. A body without a soul is still alive, its just a shell. And therefore a person can exist without a piece of their soul."   
  
With those words Dalin felt the hand begin to dig into his back, and felt agony as that hand gripped his very essence. Took hold of his soul and started to tear it from his body. In moments he would be a lifeless shell.  
  
*****************************  
  
Serenity was searching for the duel. She had to do something, and even she didn't know what she'd do when she got there. She just knew that in this case, she had to do it. Whatever it was, it was the right thing. She owed that to Drake.   
  
She let out a sudden cry as she stumbled over something on the ground, and fell flat on her face. She groaned and sat up, ribbing the bridge of her nose. Her hand jerked away from her face as she saw the plank of wood right in front of her. Slowly she back up and tilted her head up to get a better look at it.  
  
When she saw exactly what it was she screamed as loud as she could. There, right in front of her, was a crucifix. Upon that crucifix, crown of thorns and all, was Drake. Blood dripped down his face, down his wrists, and from his legs were spiked ropes held his legs to the cross. "DRAKE!"  
  
Her hands came up to her mouth as she shook her head in denial, staring up at the transfixed form of the man she cared about. She stood on unsteady feet and approached him, walking slowly, trying to figure out what to say. However her voice was ripped from her throat as his lifeless body turned its eyes upon her and spoke. "Why did you do this to me?"  
  
"W-what?" Unconsciously she backed away from the cross as it moved towards her. She turned to run but found herself facing another cross. Eyes widening she turned in a circle. As far as the eye could see was a field of crosses, and on each one Drake hung.   
  
"Your promise, the promise you knew I could not keep. It made me fight farther, made me fight harder. It was wrong of you to make me promise that, wrong of you to make me fall for that promise. Serenity Wheeler...you crucified me!"  
  
"NO!" She tried to flee, to escape the voices from all around her that chanted those words 'You crucified me!', chanted from each set of lips of all the many Drakes in the field of crosses. Her flight was halted when a cross exploded from the ground, causing her to run headlong into it. She gasped as chain whipped out from around the cross and grabbed hold of her, pulling her up and binding her to the cross.   
  
She gulped as she found herself face to face with the first Drake she had spoken to, his face right in front of hers. She struggled at her bonds and blinked back tears as the chains dug into her skin. This wasn't Drake, it couldn't be. This couldn't possibly be real. "But it is real Serenity. And its all because of you. But I'll even things up a bit, because all I need is a little piece of who you are."   
  
She tried to respond, but she was cut off when he pushed his head forwards, capturing her lips with his. She melted into the kiss after a brief moment...but then it changed. She tried to pull away from the kiss as she felt something within her being pulled at. It was like he was trying to suck the life from her.   
  
Her soul was being torn from her body in the form of a kiss.   
  
**********************************  
  
"Its all over now! GOD HAND CRUSHER!" The mighty blue skinned god hefted one giant hand and then punched down at Taichi's defenseless body, the fist moving with such great power that a bright aura surrounded it. With one blow this duel would be ended and the chance at godhood would be hers!   
  
Taichi smirked as he opened his arms wide, ready to receive the attack. In that moment his three face down cards rose up, revealing what they were to Ihachi. "This truly is the end for you! Say goodbye to your God of Light! My first card is the quick-play magic card, Banishment! Now Obelisk, return to your mistress's hand!"   
  
Ihachi growled when the mighty beast shrunk and returned to her hand in the form of a card. Had Banishment been a trap it wouldn't have worked, but because it was magic it was effective. "It doesn't matter. At the start of your turn Banishment's effect will be nullified by Obelisk and he will return to the field. All you've accomplished is to stall me."  
  
"Not exactly little girl. My second card, From Hand! Now, according to its effect, I shall activate Card Destruction from my hand, so say goodbye to Obelisk!" Ihachi snarled as she was forced to deposit Obelisk into the cemetery, drawing a single card to replace it. Taichi on the other hand got two new cards.   
  
"An effective move, but I can still resurrect Obelisk from the cemetery, if its only for one turn. One turn is all that I'd need to defeat you with the might of my God!" Taichi could only laugh at this, as he pointed to his next card. She recognized the visage of Dark Ruler Hades upon the card, and the background color told her that it was a trap card.   
  
"The final of my three card combo, a permanent trap known as Soul Demolition! Now I reveal the weakness of your God. While on the field they remain virtually invincible, in hand they are weak, but in the cemetery they are absolutely defenseless! Subject to the effect of my trap card, I can now pay five hundred life points to remove a card in your cemetery from play, so say goodbye to Obelisk!" (TLP: 1500)  
  
The ancient spirit woman could only watch helplessly as the giant image of Obelisk was torn from the cemetery and cast aside, fading into the oblivion around them. Now, at this moment, she had but one card left to protect her. Fortunately it was a good enough defense.   
  
Taichi smirked as his turn started, giving him a boosted hand of four cards. "I begin with two cards face down. And with my next move I shall finish you for good, for not even you can withstand the agony that will follow. Reveal magic card, Dark Revival!"   
  
Ihachi watched with baited breath as the ground in front of Taichi started to shake, and a black fogged issued from the ground, pushing the purple fog away. Bleak laughter sounded from within the fog...and then it parted. Ihachi gasped as the masked face of Invader of Darkness was revealed, and once more her face down card was chained by the invader's effect. "Say goodnight bitch! Invader of Darkness, break her in half!"   
  
Within its mask the invader was smiling, feeling its revenge at hand. It took off across the field like a rocket, spreading its claws as wide as they would go. Ihachi cast one hand out and opened a shield of golden energy to deflect the invader's attack. But to her surprise it managed to pierce the barrier and slice into her. Much of the energy had been halted by her barrier...but it was enough.   
  
Taichi laughed as the attack knocked Ihachi off her feet and sent her tumbling end over end for several feet. Finally she landed on her gut and slid backwards for a few more seconds before coming to a halt. He could feel her energy severely diminished by the attack, and it only got worse as his little toy activated. He grinned, soaking up the sounds of her agonized screaming. (ILP: 50)  
  
He let out an unhappy sigh as Ihachi managed to force herself to her feet so she could take her turn. She was breathing heavily and blood trickled down her lip, but it wasn't enough. She grimaced in pain as she drew her next card and returned a card to her hand, giving her three cards. "Begin with Altar of Resurrection!"   
  
She drew two cards off the top of her deck, bringing her up to four cards. Then she activated the magic card fro her cemetery. "I choose to activate Double Spell, and I'll discard the magic card from my hand to pay for it! Now for its effect....I choose to activate Called From the Depths! Return to me, Obelisk the Tormentor!"   
  
The image of Obelisk slowly faded in, until the mighty beast was once again real and on the field. It would only last for one turn, but that was enough. "Next, the card I recovered. More draw power, Pot of Greed!" She slipped two more cards from her deck, replenishing her hand to four cards again, possibly enough to finish Taichi.   
  
"I'll set a card face down and summon another Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700). Now, Obelisk will destroy Invader of Chaos!" The massive god monster clenched its fist and then swung it horizontally. The invader tried to stop the fist, but being the size of its own body it was unable to, and that swing destroyed it easily. (TLP: 400)  
  
Taichi doubled over, both in laughter and in pain. Whatever he found funny, she certainly didn't. She had just crushed his best monster, and now she had an open attack. Well she'd show him when to laugh. "Direct attack!" Her magician raised its staff and unleashed a beam of magical energy at Taichi.   
  
"Your last Skilled Dark Magician fell pray to my chains, and so shall this one. Drag To Hell!" Black chains exploded from the ground and covered the magician. It struggled against their force, but found itself unable to fight back. In moments the spellcaster was dragged beneath the ground to the hell that awaited it. "Poor creature is removed from the game. Bu-bye. So...are you done?"  
  
She nodded and then he followed the effect of his permanent magic card by drawing two cards, giving him a total of three. He casually slipped a card into one of his m/t slots and then announced his move. "I'll set a card face down. Next I summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500). And as its my turn...goodbye Obelisk!"   
  
Ihachi grimaced as for the second time that duel Obelisk faded away, leaving her field open except for her two face down cards. And as she had believed before, those would be easily enough. "Demon Soldier, attack directly!"   
  
"Activate Trap Reflector as Genocide Chains!" This time it was the demon who was wrapped up by the spiked chains. Oddly enough the demon smirked at this, seeming to enjoy the pain caused by the spikes digging into its skin.   
  
"I knew you would do something stupid like that. So I feel sorry for you, as such things will only increase the darkness that assists my goal. Give this duel your all, for at the end your great power and darkness will be used to feed the coming of my master!"   
  
She smirked and picked up her next card. She examined it carefully and then ejected a card from her cemetery, a plan already forming in her mind. She knew exactly how to defeat him, and she could do it in this single turn with the cards she had. All she needed were the two cards she had just gotten, and her face down card. "Say goodbye to the card on the right, Mystical Space Typhoon!"   
  
A bolt of lightning shot out and shattered the card into thousands of particles. She was about to continue with her turn when the particles swarmed back together into the form of the card, and then flipped up, revealing a bloody severed hand. "The card you destroyed was Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet. By its effect I now guess the type of card at the bottom of my deck. I guess trap."   
  
He ejected the card and flipped it up to face her, revealing it to be the Reversed Worlds card, a trap. "Now I discard it and draw a total of five cards, giving me a big ol' hand of six cards!" She just kept smirking, knowing that even his new cards couldn't save him, because her next card was going to finish him off.   
  
"Alright, then I'll summon Breaker the Magical Warrior(1600+300/1000). And I immediately use its magic counter to destroy your remaining face down card. The end has come for you at last!" The red armored knight charged forward and slashed his face down card apart with its sword, leaving his only defense as the Demon Soldier, and her face down card would take care of that threat.   
  
"A foolish and desperate move. You just destroyed Shatter Point, which has two effects. I chose to use the second since I knew what was coming. Its second effect is that when its destroyed it lets me destroy one card on my opponent's field. In this case, that's Breaker!" Ihachi snarled as a beam of thin red energy sliced her Breaker in half, destroying him instantly. Now she was the one who was practically defenseless. But at least she could count on Genocide Chains to finish him off.  
  
"I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn." Taichi grinned and drew two more cards, increasing his hand to a total of eight cards. If he didn't use up enough of them in this turn, then he'd have to discard to drop his hand back to a total of six cards. She hoped that was the case.   
  
He held up one of the cards and then slapped it down on the field. She immediately recognized it from the first time he played it. "Hellish Accountant. With four cards on your field that means I can draw four, and you have to draw until you get a monster. So go ahead and do so."  
  
She groaned as his hand quickly shot up to a total of eleven cards, any of which could be used to destroy her. She went through three cards, each of which were discarded, before coming upon a monster. She special summoned it in defense mode, revealing Apprenticeship Magician(400/800). The little blond spellcaster was only a temporary defense.   
  
"I'll continue with two face down cards. And now I shall unveil a truly unique monster, unlike any other ever created. It was my idea in fact, to create this monster. You see, for over the years I have discovered that there exists a special brand of creature that can always be trusted to make things worse for just about everybody. But manipulated correctly they become deadly forces for the manipulator. With this in mind I designed the creature that epitomized this nature...the nature of the traitor!"   
  
He slammed his next card on the field and she watched as a little green skinned demon rose up on the field, only a few feet tall. It had a fearful expression on its face and sharp fangs and claws...but it didn't look that deadly. It just looked like a little gremlin. "Ihachi, meet my favorite monster, the Traitor Beast(500/1000)! In fact...meet your newest monster!"   
  
"Say what?" As she watched the little gremlin flicked its eyes back to look towards Taichi, and then it scampered over to her side of the field, looking frightened of its own shadow as it stood there. She snarled at seeing the weak little creature on her side. It was a liability, especially since she didn't know what its effect might be, other then the obvious.   
  
"I'll end my turn, discarding two cards to drop my hand back to six cards as per the rules. And as you draw, my creature will go to work!" Ihachi grabbed the top card of her deck and then pulled a card free from her cemetery. In that brief moment the little gremlin launched itself at the Demon Soldier and slashed at its chains. She gasped as the chains shattered and her Trap Reflector card went to the cemetery.   
  
"Allow me to explain. You see, a traitor never helps anyone but itself. Its always out to get the best position, and will even hurt its current side to make sure it can stay in favor with its enemies. Its first act as a traitor was to go under your control. The second is that each of your standby phases it lets me destroy one card on your field. You see! By manipulating it I gain the advantage!"   
  
She snarled and grabbed a card from her hand, ready to act to defeat Taichi. "You think your traitorous gremlin will help you? Hardly! I now sacrifice it and Apprenticeship Magician for Omegus(3500/3200)!" She started to slam the card down on her field in order to get rid of Taichi's little monster, but a jolt of electricity caught her hand, keeping her from completing the action.   
  
"You idiot! I told you a traitor's nature is to preserve itself. You can't sacrifice it!" She grimaced and dropped her hand to the card on her field, grabbing it to shift it into defense mode. As had happened when she tried to sacrifice it, a zap of mini-lightning stopped her. She looked up and saw Taichi shaking his finger and laughing at her. She should have known, of course it wouldn't obey her commands. That would be too easy.   
  
"Fine, I'll just clear a path with Mystical Space Typhoon!" The card on Taichi's left exploded under the force of the magic card, and to her surprise a familiar line of red light shot out and sliced through her face down Mirror Force, destroying it completely. She cursed, recognizing the effect of Shatter Point. The bastard had faced down another one, knowing she'd try and clear away his traps. "End turn!"  
  
Taichi smirked and slipped two more cards free, increasing his hand size up to eight, where once again he'd have to discard to keep his hand at the right size. Something was up with that though...certainly he could have done more in his previous turn to decrease his hand size...so he must have wanted to discard. But why? "Tell me Ihachi...do you like the gift of my little Traitor Beast? Yes? Well in that case why don't I give you a second one!"   
  
Ihachi cursed her luck as a second little gremlin appeared on the field and scampered over to her side, joining its fellow traitor. With its presence she was even more vulnerable. "The end literally is now...with my trap card, Apocalypse Now! I'm sure you were wondering why I kept discarding, and it was for this card. It lets me remove any number of demons from my cemetery to destroy that many cards from your deck plus five! So I say goodbye to the twelve demons in my graveyard, and you say goodbye to seventeen cards!"   
  
She bit back a cry as an even dozen dark souls rose up from the ground and hovered around Taichi. He casually stroked one, which moved in closer to him in response, a loyal demon to the last. He raised one arm and pointed at her, giving the command. With that the demon spirits shot out passing through her body bringing on further agony each time. And with each one she lost another card off her deck.   
  
As the trap finished its work she managed to pull herself together, looking down at her severely diminished deck. It only had about ten or so cards left, not much to be happy about. "Now, I set two cards. Demon Soldier, attack the first Traitor Beast!" The demon raced across the field, swinging its sword as it went. However as it tried to strike down the gremlin Ihachi's face down card activated.   
  
"Magical Hats, surround and conceal!" Four hats appeared and covered her monsters, leaving only one empty hat. She had a fifty-fifty chance of living through this attack, she had to hope for the beast because now her other face down couldn't help her at all. She saw the blade slice through a hat and then let out a sigh of relief as the hat turned out to be empty. She was starting to lose it.  
  
"That's it for now. But beware, for the end is truly at hand. I knew you'd stop that attack, but I want to push you to your limits. Because this will all be determined with the might of my God, the God of Darkness, the Essence of Destruction, Exodia the Forbidden One!"   
  
Her hand shook as she reached down, dropping the number of cards in her deck down. She started to reach for her cemetery but was cut off when the two gremlins exploded from the hats, causing them to vanish. One of the creatures darted at her Mystic Funnel and cut it into ribbons. The second slashed her face down Shrink in half. She glanced down at her card and dropped it, falling to her knees in shock. She had lost! It was impossible!  
  
Taichi started to laugh at her despair, but was quickly stopped by the approaching light. He looked around, spotting a dozen points of light. He jerked to the side as one of the balls of light shot past him and towards Ihachi, the others followed, swarming around her. She looked up at them, vainly trying to beat them back. "Get the hell away from me! Away!"   
  
In that moment the balls of light struck, striking her from all sides, forcing their way into her. Taichi watched as she started to scream, the light consuming her completely until she could no longer be seen. All that was there was a giant column of light...a light he recognized. "Soul light?"  
  
The column of light exploded, knocking Taichi off his feet. He shook his head to clear it and looked up at where Ihachi had been. He gasped in shock as he saw what stood there, saw the absolute impossibility of it. "This can't be! Your dead! Your soul gone, destroyed! This is completely impossible!"   
  
Drake Ihachi smirked and picked up the cards that Ihachi had dropped, then looked back up at Taichi. There was no blood, no evidence of wounds, his body was completely intact, no sign of even the injuries he had before their duel. What was more, his magical power had been completely restored, making him stronger then he had been at the start of the duel. "I tell you, its impossible! I killed you!"  
  
He grinned and pointed with his thumb over his shoulder. Taichi watched as the entire group, from Dalin to Duke walked up. Each was a little unsteady on their feet, but otherwise fine. And it was then that Taichi felt it...saw it even. A dozen cords of light led from Drake to each member of the group. A dozen cords of soul light. "I was dead, my body finished. But Ihachi fixed it up using the power of the Shadow Realm. My soul was almost completely destroyed, but a dozen pieces remained, one for each of the people you see. Each one carried a piece of my soul in them, and I carry a piece of their souls in me. It was that power that restored my soul, funneled through your manipulating magic. All I had to do was turn your mental torture against you, and restore myself."  
  
"But it can't be! Soul restoration has never been done before. Not even the strongest mages to ever live ever succeeded in doing such a thing. It was thought to be impossible!" Drake just grinned and shrugged his shoulder at this, hardly bothered by how impossible the situation was.   
  
"What can I say? I didn't know it was impossible so I did it anyways. And now, I guess I'll set a card face down. Your turn Taichi, show me what you can do." The dark duelist grimaced and grabbed two cards from the bottom of his deck. He then reached out with his stolen power, the power he hadn't been using, the power of the Millennium Tauk. He used that power and peered into the future.   
  
"Fool! I've seen the future, and no matter what you do, the outcome is the same! Your efforts will be useless and in my next turn you will perish! You'll be dead and the world will be gone!" He continued laughing, and the others started to get nervous, knowing the power that Taichi had stolen from the Millennium Tauk, the power to see the past and the future.   
  
Drake just grinned and raised a single fist in defiance. "Go ahead and do your worst. As I said before, a real man faces with music even if he doesn't like the tune. And trust me Taichi, you're really off key."   
  
Taichi just smirked and played his next card, revealing it to be a card with Dark Ruler Hades on it. Hades was holding up a Mirror Force card and grinning wickedly. "I play Demonic Cloning Technique. I now sacrifice Demon Soldier to copy one of your card effects, in this case, Mystical Space Typhoon!"   
  
A bolt of lightning shot out and destroy Drake's face down card, but Drake was still calm and confident. He knew exactly what he was doing...or so it seemed. "Next I play Cheerful Coffin, and I'll discard three monsters. And now I'll reveal a copy of the card I most recently used on Ihachi...Apocalypse Now!"   
  
The card flipped up and five demon spirits rose from the ground circling Taichi. The dark duelist casually commanded them to strike, and they did so with great vigor. Each one that struck Drake sent another of his cards to the cemetery, and then after they were gone five more had to go. But Drake just continued grinning as he watched each card fade away.   
  
"The time has come for the God of Darkness to arise. You may not be able to sacrifice those Traitor Beast's, but I certainly can. Now I play Soul Exchange, to sacrifice your three monsters! For what was, for what is, and for what shall be, come out Exodia!"   
  
The mighty dark God took shape from the very darkness of the Shadow Realm, the negative energies that had been created by the leakage of darkness from Exodia's prison. In mere moments the invincible god creature stood in front of Taichi, the unbound master of destruction, who with a flick of his wrist could destroy them all. "According to the effect of Soul Exchange I can't attack this turn, so I end this turn. However next turn... the end will come for you!"  
  
Drake didn't even bother to look down as he drew his next card. He knew, he always knew in cases like this. He had explained it to Serenity when he had been teaching her about strategy and Duel Monsters. It was his ideal strategy, it was his planning. "You said that we were a lot alike, you and I. Well we are, I admit that now. We both see what was, what is, and we always look forward to and plan on what shall be. And that's knowledge that has served me well in the past and serves me well know. I just drew the very last card in my deck."  
  
"Truly? That's hilarious! I could just end my next turn and win the duel...but don't count on it. I plan to destroy you with Exodia. Not only will I take your soul and your power, but I'll get my ultimate goal all in one fell swoop. Because you've joined your soul with theirs to empower yourself you've connected yourself to them in a dangerous way. When your soul is taken theirs will be as well, and I will take all the power that I need from Ammut to free my master! In my next turn, the result will not only be the end of the duel...it will be the end of the world!"  
  
Drake grinned and took the card in his hand, then silently placed it on the field. It appeared as a brown-backed giant card in front of him, the only remaining card in his hand. He looked back up at Taichi and smiled, causing the light of his many bonds to glow brighter then ever. "The bond with my friends is not a weakness, it's a strength. And that strength will not only keep you from your goal, but it will end you forever. I'm ready for you Taichi. We all are. This is the end of just my turn, not the world."  
  
Taichi grabbed two more cards and then tossed his hand to the side. He didn't need those cards, he had seen the future! He had seen himself standing in front of Drake, Exodia on the field, and he had seen himself call out an attack that obliterated Drake, winning him the duel. "It truly is over Drake, for the entire world! Exodia...OBLITERATE!"  
  
As Drake's face down card started to flip up he realized something he had been too blind to see before. In his vision of the future nobody was standing behind Drake, and there was no bond of soul light. The future had changed. "Reveal face down card, Devil's Sanctuary!"   
  
The wave of enormous energy crashed over the metal devil that rose up from the sanctuary, crushing it. Tiachi let out a cry of agony as the device's full power kicked in, the power to kill. The power that was only activated when a duelist lost. "Impossible! Exodia's attack means victory!"  
  
"Right, and everything done to the Metal Devil Token(0/0) is done to my opponent instead. So the power of instant victory is turned against you, just as the power of our soul bonds turns back your darkness! Its over Taichi, you lost!" Taichi let out a cry of agony as the death throes ripped through him, crushing the insides of his very mortal body.   
  
The dark duelist collapsed to his knees moaning in agony as death captured him. But slowly through that agonized moaning they could hear a darker, deeper voice, and that voice was laughing. They watched as a black shadow seeped from Taichi's body, rising up above him in the form of a pure black winged demon. "The end is truly here now, for the device in my body had one last effect. When it registered the command to kill, it would also send a command to the satellites that I control, Kabia Corp's missile satellites! And they assault will reduce the Earth's population down to 2% of its original!"  
  
The group gasped in surprise, and turned to Kaiba. Their fears were confirmed when Kaiba nodded. The threat was real...and there was no way of stopping it. The dark shadow continued to laugh. "Fools, did you think defeating my mortal body would be the end of it? I had other plans, and now I will keep you all from interfering by casting you so far into the darkness of the Shadow Realm that you'll never escape!"   
  
The group raised the soul bond, trying to put up a barrier, but they were unable to act in time. A wave of darkness washed over them, breaking the soul bond and pulling them apart and away...far off into the endless dark that was the Shadow Realm.   
  
The people of Domino's worst fears were consumed as the sky rained fire, and the apocolyptic energy of nuclear missiles consumed everything. The entire world was consumed in the fires of the apocolypse. Taichi's vision had come true. The End of the World had come.  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: Huzzah! There ya go. And when we continue with chapter twenty everything is gonna change, so watch for it!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Drake/Ihachi: Trap Reflector, Soul Drain, Magical Well  
  
Taichi: Genocide Chains, Demon Catapult, Called From the Depths, Banishment, From Hand, Dark Revival, Drag To Hell, Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet, Shatter Point, Hellish Accountant, Traitor Beast, Apocalypse Now, Demonic Cloning Technique 


	21. Into the Shadows

Disclaimer: You know the drill, no Yugioh here.  
  
Author's Note: And now for something completely different...sorta.  
  
  
  
Strength is the only thing that matters. Everything else is an illusion for the weak."-Dragonball Z  
  
Chapter Twenty: Into the Shadows  
  
Everything was dark. But then again, this was the Shadow Realm, so that was to be expected. However the dull orange glow of sunrise was not to be expected, leading Dalin to believe that a false world had been created within this part of the Shadow Realm. But who had created it he had no idea. What purpose was similarly a mystery.   
  
He groaned and shook his head, trying to clear the fog from it. He cast his gaze around him, trying to find any sign of the others. There was nothing. Apparently Taichi, or whatever that thing had been, had done an effective job at separating them. In fact he couldn't even sense them.   
  
He struggled to stand, and after a few moments of trying he managed to pull himself up. He drew a little bit of power from the four fingered ring on his hand and surrounded himself in a silver glow that illuminated the area around him.   
  
When everything was cleared up he found himself in a little wooded enclave, with a clear cut exit right in front of him. It was through this exit that the dim light of the rising sun shown. However the exit seemed too clear cut...it was not natural. Someone had been here. "Is anybody there?"  
  
Dalin grimaced as a harsh voice cut through the clean air with its annoying laughter. It wasn't horribly evil like Taichi's laugh had been, it was just annoying. But it definitely had a tinge of darkness to it. Nothing horrible, but the laughter obviously wasn't the good kind. "Who's there?"  
  
Dalin threw his arms up in front of his eyes as bright lights ignited around him, shining directly into his face. Slowly he managed to get his vision back, and he recognized the source of the lights as spot lamps. He looked towards the exit and found a hideous man entering.   
  
The newcomer was extremely ugly. He was wrinkled and had several warts on his face, that and he was overweight. He had been the source of the laughter obviously, and in his hand he carried something very familiar. A dueling deck. "So, I guess another lamb has fallen into my trap. The name is Lechuge, and I happen to be a mob boss. Normally I'd have somebody else deal with you, but to get out of this freaky place I have to beat ten duelists. You'll be my third."  
  
Dalin quirked an eyebrow, noticing that while the man had a deck, he didn't have a duel disk. "How do you expect to duel without a duel disk?" The ugly man just grinned and snapped his fingers. Dalin's eyes widened as the ground underneath them started to shake...and soon a dueling platform rose up, with Dalin already standing at one end.   
  
Lechuge came up on his platform and slapped his deck down on the deck zone of the dueling platform. "I suppose I don't need to explain rules to you. I was told that there's an option of a special set of rules, but instead I chose to use something different for my dueling. The unfortunate thing for you is that the loser of this duel...well let's just say they won't be having any fun. And of course, don't try running, cuz there's an automatic mini-gun set up right outside the exit and if anybody but me tries to leave before this duel is over...they get new holes."  
  
Dalin grimaced and briefly shuffled his deck before placing it on his own deck zone. Then he drew his opening hand of five cards, watching as Lechuge did the same. "What is this about? Why are you supposed to duel me?"  
  
"I don't have a clue, but I don't intend to lose. I need to get out of this freaky place, so I'm gonna win. So lets get started. Me first. Draw card! Okay, now I'll start this off by summoning Surprising Matasa(1300/800) in attack mode. Then I'll equip him with Axe of Despair to raise his attack strength by 1000. Lets see you beat that."  
  
Dalin shook his head at the amateur move, watching as the holographic form of a green armored samurai appeared, wielding a skull headed axe. Matasa's ability to attack twice in a battle phase was impressive, but it would do his opponent no good. "I will begin this duel with two cards face down. Next I shall summon Zolga(1700/1000) in attack mode. End turn."  
  
Two squares lit up behind Dalin's Zolga followed by the appearance of the trapezoid angel itself. Now he would see what Lechuge could do. "Draw card. Ha! Now I'm gonna equip my Matasa with Excalibur! This card doubles Matasa's attack strength to 4600, but its destroyed the moment I draw. However it lets me skip my draw phase if I want."  
  
Dalin shook his head as the samurai added a simple broadsword to its other hand, doubling its attack strength. Lechuge truly was an amateur, and any duelist who had lost to him had to be pathetic. "Activate face down card, Reward of Summons. This allows you to special summon a monster at your hand, and grants me one thousand life points for that summons." (DLP: 5000)  
  
Lechuge grinned and picked a card from his hand, and slapped it onto the field. "I special summon La Jinn the Mystical Genie of the Lamp(1800/1000) in attack mode!" The green genie was summoned onto the field and then crossed its arms, ready to do as its master commanded.   
  
"Activate face down card, Blessings of Birth. When you special summon a monster I can activate this card, automatically ending your turn." Lechuge grumbled and passed the turn to Dalin, who immediately drew a card, increasing his hand size to four cards.   
  
Dalin calmly examined his hand, thinking over the strategy he had been working on during the time waiting during Drake's duel. He had known he would need something special to beat Taichi if Drake lost, so he had prepared accordingly. "I set one card face down to end my turn."   
  
Lechuge of course, skipped his draw phase. With three cards in his hand his choices were thin, and obviously he had just monsters there. "I'll summon Hayabusa Knight(1000/700) in attack mode. Then I attack with La Jinn!" The genie started charging up energy between its palms, but Dalin was ready for this.   
  
"Chain with Pleasantries of Heaven. This will force both players to skip their next battle phases, in this case ending yours now. As a result I can a further thousand life points." The genie stopped its attack, and Lechuge, unable to make a move, ended his turn. (DLP: 6000)  
  
Dalin drew his next card and played it immediately, watching as the sky lit up and a celestial hand reached down to surround Lechuge. "My next card is called Hand of Heaven. If my opponent has more monsters then me and neither player has any monsters in their cemetery my opponent must select a number of monsters from his deck equal to the total levels of the monsters on the field divided by two. So send seven monsters from your deck to your cemetery."   
  
Lechuge grimaced and searched his deck before depositing his chosen monsters into the cemetery. He had most likely chosen many of his weaker monsters, but considering the type of moves Lechuge had been making so far, most of his monsters were bound to be strong attackers. "Set one card face down. End turn."  
  
Lechuge glanced at his hand for a brief moment before deciding on his actions. He grabbed one of his two remaining cards and played it to the field. In that moment his Hayabusa Knight and La Jinn were destroyed. The monster rose up, revealing Tri-Horned Dragon(2850/2350). "I attack!"  
  
"Open face down card, Return of the Hand! By removing Hand of Heaven from my cemetery I can negate your attack and end your battle phase." Again Lechuge was forced to end his turn abruptly. He swore violently and watched as Dalin drew his next card, putting his hand up to a total of three cards. Now he had exactly what he needed.   
  
"I will begin this turn with by playing the card that will bring about the summoning of the strongest monster you have ever faced. I equip Zolga with Holy Goddess Sword-Airtos, increasing its attack by 300." Zolga had no hands, so the shining sword simply floated around in front of Zolga waiting to be used.   
  
"Since I have no monsters in my cemetery and the sword is on the field, I may now special summon Guardian Airtos(2500/2000) in attack mode. As per its effect I instantly equip the sword to it. Now comes the interesting part. I remove cards from your cemetery until I reach a non-monster card, and then I increase Airtos' attack by the total attack power of the removed monsters."   
  
Dalin's newest and mightiest monster was a female angel with white angel wings, a brown outfit, and wore a headdress that seemed to be the head of a giant white bird of some kind. Perhaps a crane. The angel took up the sword from Zolga and then waved it in a slashing motion. Lechuge could only watch in horror as his nine monsters rose up from the graveyard and shattered. They were revealed as three Hayabusa Knights, three monsters with nine hundred attack which Dalin didn't recognize, two Big Eyes, and La Jinn.   
  
"Now, Guardian Airtos(12700/2000), attack and destroy Surprising Matasa!" The angel swooped down and sliced the samurai in half with its blade, shattering it into tiny pieces. Thus would be the end of the duel...or so Dalin thought. To his shock he noticed his opponent's life point counter for the first time where it appeared in front of his face on the platform. (LLP: 51900)  
  
"You started with sixty-thousand life points! So that's how you won your other duels!" As Dalin's turn ended Lechuge started to laugh. Dalin had now realized exactly what was in store, because even with his ability to increase his life points, he could never hope to reach the heights of life points that Lechuge had. This would take a long time, and in that time Lechuge would have plenty of opportunities to make a comeback.   
  
"And now I draw!"  
  
***************************************  
  
Drake groaned at the sight in front of him, recognizing the way the walls seemed to move. In front of him was a giant maze, and as far as he could tell there was no way for him to get anywhere without getting through that first.   
  
"Damn you Taichi! I'll find a way to end you once and for all...but first I'll have to find you." With that he set off down the maze, his full focus on getting to the end and finding some way to get to Taichi. He still had a promise to fulfill, he had to bring back Kirani and every other soul Taichi had stolen. Even if it cost him his life......  
  
Again.  
  
************************************************  
  
Across their new world dozens of duelists were awakening to find themselves in similar situations. Soon hundreds more awoke, joining the already innumerable masses of duelists and non-duelists who had been forced into this strange new world. So would begin a mass of chaotic duels, all driving towards a single hidden purpose.   
  
Of course none of that was known by Takuya Shinomori, known to his friends and to his enemies as Kensai. All he knew was that he had a killer headache and when he had woken up he had found himself sinking in quick-sand.   
  
He had been quickly pulled free by a very strange looking teenager. This teen had a full head of brown hair, and wore a strange red and black jumpsuit with shoulder pads. Oddest still were the goggles he wore on his head, but not over his eyes. He had a duel disk on one arm, but no deck was in it.   
  
"Thanks for helping me out back there, I probably couldn't have gotten out without you. My name's Takuya by the way, but most people call me Kensai." He offered his hand to the other duelist, who grinned and shook Kensai's hand with great vigor. The strange man's hands were calloused, and his grip was strong. There was perhaps more to this stranger then met the eye.   
  
"Name's Varon, glad to meet ya. I noticed your duel disk as I saw you were noticing mind. As a gift for rescuing me you can treat me to a duel. If I beat you that'll make my fifth victory, putting me at the halfway mark."   
  
Kensai blinked stupidly and stared at Varon for a moment before asking the obvious question. "Halfway mark? What are you talking about?" So for the next few minutes his new companion explained to him about the rules that he had been told about, and how to escape this place each duelist who had been dragged here had to win ten straight duels, with no losses. The initial challenger got to select the rules.   
  
"And since I challenged you, I get to select what rules we go by. In this case the rules we'll be going by are the rules told to me by that weird guy I told you about. Its called the Deck Master System. Each player first creates a deck from sample cards displayed, and then we select one monster amongst them to be our deck master. That monster is placed out of play and has a special effect that can be used at any time. We can put the deck master into play, but its risky because if the deck master is destroyed, you lose the game. Oh, and we start with twice the normal life points."  
  
Kensai chuckled as he listened to Varon go through the list of rules in quick succession, without ever taking a break. The guy definitely seemed enthusiastic about dueling, so Kensai was willing to let him have that duel. Of course he was going to have to break Varon's streak, but if Varon was good then he'd be able to bring himself back up. "Okay, I'm game."  
  
With that the two duelist started to select their cards, watching carefully as holographic images floated before their eyes. Kensai soon discovered through experimentation that if he focused hard enough on a specific booster set, the cards would role exactly to that set, letting him view the cards. Unfortunately it wouldn't let him go to specific cards. Within about five minutes the two duelists had created decks.   
  
"Okay Varon, I've made my deck, and now I'll select my deck master. Blessed Knight of Emoria(1800/1900) will be my Deck Master. So select your Deck Master and let's get this started." As soon as Kensai selected his master it appeared beside him, life sized and ready to go. His knight was dressed in shining white armor and instead of a sword he held a two-headed axe like an executioner might wield.   
  
The brown haired goggle head grinned as he finished selecting his cards, and casually picked a monster from his deck and held it up. As he spoke the monster appeared behind him, revealing a blue helmet with a black visor. "I select Psychic Head Armor(0/500) as my Deck Master! And with this Deck Master the power of my armor deck becomes greater then you can imagine!"   
  
"Armor Deck?"  
  
*********************************  
  
"And now I draw! Ha, watch this you little runt. Pot of Greed to draw two cards." The fat ugly man grabbed two more cards from his deck greedily, seemingly confident that they would be exactly what he needed. Of course at that moment Dalin realized that Lechuge had never shuffled his deck, and it was quite probable the fat man had stacked his deck before hand.   
  
"First I'll play the magic card Pump Up, which will double on monster's attack strength on my field for the duration of the turn! Then I'll follow that with Riryoku, which will drain your Airtos's attack strength by half and give my monster that power. So now Tri-horned Dragon(12050/2350) destroy Airtos!"   
  
The dragon raced across the field and swiped at Airtos with its claws. The weakened angel tried to fight back, but was unable to, causing it to be destroyed by the dragon's attack. What was worse was the damage that Dalin took from that attack. It nearly wiped him out of life points that he would need to survive this long duel. (DLP: 300) "End turn!"  
  
Dalin drew a quick breath and added his next card to his hand. He let out a sigh of relief as he saw what it was, a card that would definitely help him out. He casually slipped it onto the special zone on the dueling platform. "I play the field magic card, Sanctuary of the Sky." The temple in the clouds appeared on the field, reduced in size to fit within the platform. But its effect was all that mattered. "I end my turn."  
  
Lechuge grinned as he slipped a card off his deck and then placed it on the field. "I summon Nin-Ken Dog(1800/1000) in attack mode! Then both my monsters will attack, starting with my ninja doggy!" Lechuge's newest monster was a dog standing upright and wearing a ninja outfit, a strange picture indeed. Dalin shook his head as the two monsters attacked his Zolga. And as Yugi has discovered in their duel, a barrier of light sprung up and stopped the attacks from destroying Zolga.   
  
"As long as Sanctuary of the Sky is in play my angels cannot be defeated. So you are forced to end your turn having no more options." The fat man grumbled, but eventually motioned for Dalin to take his turn. Dalin did so, drawing a card to bump up his hand size. He glanced down at the card and recognized Hysteric Fairy. However, as he examined the rest of his hand, he realized that if he drew the right card he could take a big jump ahead if he kept this card in his hand. He motioned for Lechuge to take his turn.   
  
The fat duelist grabbed at his deck and then quickly tossed his Nin-Ken Dog aside in exchange for a stronger monster, which was quickly revealed. "I tribute Nin-Ken Dog for Summoned Skull(2500/1200) in attack mode!" With that he ended his turn.   
  
Dalin drew his next card and immediately saw the possibilities. The card he had drawn was hardly fair and would most likely soon be banned, but for the moment it was good for him. "I play Payment of Debt to draw three cards at no cost to myself." With that quick action his hand size increased to five, giving him exactly the cards he needed to turn this thing to his advantage. Not that it was overly necessary considering the skill of his current opponent.   
  
"I summon Warrior of Zera(1600/1600) in attack mode!" The earthen warrior, one of only a small few non-angels in Dalin's deck, appeared on the field only briefly before vanishing in a flash of light. A column of light appeared in its place and then slowly faded revealing a purple skinned angel with wide spanned wings, a helmet, and a red cloth across his face. This angel wielded a curved sword which he held aloft easily with one hand.   
  
"By sacrificing Warrior of Zera I can special summon a very deadly angel, an angel in a class like none you've ever seen before. For this is a fighting angel, this is Archangel Zerato(2800/2300)! Now, by discarding Hysteric Fairy from my hand I can activate his effect, and destroy all monsters on your field!" The archangel stretched out his blade and issued forth a stream of light energy that consumed the Summoned Skull and the Tri-Horned Dragon.   
  
"Zerato and Zolga, attack directly!" Both angels attack, Zerato slicing against the platform's barrier with his sword and Zolga sending a stream of energy to collide against the barrier. Lechuge was lucky that the platform's didn't translate force like the disks did, otherwise he'd be in a lot of pain from those two attacks. (LLP: 47400)   
  
"Now I shall continue my turn by playing the magic card, A Gathering of Angels! This permanent magic card lets me select an angel sub-type from my deck each turn and place it in my hand in place of my draw phase. My second card is also a permanent magic card called Angelic Light Ceremony. By its effect I gain 500 life points each standby phase for each angel on my field. It also allows me to pay five hundred life points to draw a card. With that I end my turn!"   
  
Lechuge gulped as he started to see the possibilities. Then he drew his card and quickly set a monster down on the field in defense mode. That was all he was able to do in his turn, giving control back to Dalin and his vicious cycling combo.   
  
He selected one card from his deck that was an angel according to the effect of his permanent magic card, A Gathering of Angels. Then he gained a thousand life points for the two angels he had on the field. (DLP: 1300) Then he followed that up by paying a thousand points to draw two cards. (DLP: 300)   
  
"I'll set one card face down, and then summon Mercury, Angel of Wisdom(0/1700) in attack mode. Now I discard Atomic Firefly from my hand to activate Zerato's effect. Say goodbye to your monster!" Again Zerato unleashed a beam of energy from his blade, cutting down Lechuge's defense, revealing a Dragon Dwelling in the Cave(1300/2000) that was quickly destroyed.   
  
"I attack directly with Zolga and Zerato!" Again the two angels followed up with their powerful attacks, further reducing Lechuge's life points. But despite Dalin's efforts he had still hardly managed to dent the other duelist's life points. (LLP: 42900)   
  
"Umm...one card face down. End turn." Dalin smiled slightly at seeing Lechuge actually play card that wasn't a monster or an equip magic card, Pot of Greed withstanding. A trap perhaps? Or maybe just a magic card to keep Dalin from attacking.   
  
Dalin let the smile faded as he selected another angel from his deck, and then gained the needed life points. He now had two cards in his hand, one from Mercury's effect and the other from his gathering. (DLP: 1800) He kept his face blank as he continued by paying all the life points he had juste gained to draw three more cards, bringing his hand up to five. (DLP: 300)  
  
"I shall now deal with your threat by summoning a monster unlike anything you have ever experienced. I sacrifice Zerato, Zolga, and Mercury to summon The Saint Dragon Osiris(4000/4000)! And because I sacrificed Zolga I gain two thousand life points!" (DLP: 2300)  
  
Lechuge stared at the giant snake like dragon in horror, unable to comprehend its true ferocity as the platform kept its true size from being displayed. It was, however, the largest monster that Lechuge had ever seen, and it took up almost all the room on the field. "I pay two thousand life points to draw four cards, brining my hand up to eight cards. Thereby increasing Osiris' attack by four thousand points. Osiris, attack directly!"   
  
Lechuge threw out his hand and revealed his face down Mirror Force. Unfortunately for Lechuge Osiris shattered the barrier and plowed its incredible attack right into the barrier between the holograms and Lechuge. (LLP: 34900)   
  
"I assumed you had a trap, which my Osiris is immune to. Now to keep from discarding cards I'll summon Angel of Creation, Venus(1600/0) in attack mode. Then I'll play Poison of the Old Man to gain twelve hundred life points, which I will gladly spend one thousand of to special summon two Holy Shine Spheres(500/500 X2)" (DLP: 500)  
  
The angelic woman appeared on the field, her long blonde hair flowing at behind her. At Dalin's command she summoned forth two of the spheres that swirled around her, leaving one lonely one left. However it would join Dalin's forces in the next turn.   
  
Lechuge grimaced and grabbed his next card. He slowly placed it on the field, only to find his Battle Ox(1700/1000) was destroyed instantly by Osiris's second mouth attack, leaving him defenseless. Shaking in fear Lechuge gave the command to Dalin.   
  
Dalin gladly took command and placed a specific angel in his hand. As well, at the start of his turn his life points took a turn for the better. Then of course he payed five hundred life points to special summon the final Holy Shine Sphere, filling up his monster zones. His wasn't done yet as he sacrificed one of the spheres for his next monster. "I sacrifice a sphere for Saturn, Angel of Judgement(2400/0)."  
  
The purple skinned angel replaced the little glowing sphere and snapped his wings out wide, joining his brethren on the field. His power was gladly welcomed by the angels, and completely ignored by the far mightier Osiris. "I now pay one thousand life points to draw two cards from my deck, brining my hand up to eight again." (DLP: 500)   
  
Lechuge gulped air greedily as the terrifying force was commanded to attack him directly, dumping a huge chunk of his life points down the drain. Despite his advantages, he was quickly losing to a superior duelist and his enormous duel monster. (LLP: 21900) "I'll set two cards face down, and end my turn."   
  
Lechuge glanced down at his card, and found only a United We Stand. Normally a good card, it was useless without any monsters. He grimaced and passed his turn to Dalin, knowing that soon he would be finished, because nothing could possibly defeat such a powerful monster as Osiris.   
  
Dalin shook his head in disgust as he added yet another angel to his hand, surveying the situation as his life points jumped up enormously to a total of 2500. He looked over his hand briefly before paying two thousand life points to jump his hand up to four cards, at that same moment he activated his face down Solemn Wishes, giving him five hundred more life points. (DLP: 1000)   
  
He grinned as the realization of Dalin's combo finally hit him. Osiris's attack strength was equal to the number of cards in Dalin's hand. Angelic Light Ceremony allowed Dalin to pay five hundred life points to draw a card. Solemn Wishes granted him five hundred life points every time he drew a card. Now he could infinitely pay for the effect of Angelic Light Ceremony, allowing him to increase his hand to whatever size he wanted. (DLP: 1000)  
  
Lechuge dropped to his knees in horror as Osiris(22000/22000) towered over him, ready to attack at a single command. Worse yet, he knew that when this duel ended he'd lose more then his winning streak...he'd lose far more then that. "Osiris, Thunder Force Attack!" (LLP: 0)  
  
Dalin shook his head as he gathered up his card, hardly bothering to watch as a dark cloud swirled around Lechuge, ripping his soul from his body and dragging it into the sky above. He had no pity for one as disgusting and pathetic as Lechuge, for the man truly deserved to have his soul ripped from him. The worm couldn't even beat Dalin while cheating.   
  
**********************************************  
  
Drake grimaced as he turned a corner and found himself at a dead end. Now he'd have to go back and follow the other path and hope that he didn't make a wrong choice again and end up at another dead end. "Damn it Taichi! You can delay me with your maze, but it won't stop me!"  
  
With that he turned and headed back the way he had come, retracing his path so he could return to the fork where he had chosen right, and instead take the left path. Sooner or later he'd make it to the end of this maze, and when he did Taichi would find himself in a world of hurt. Assuming that Drake found a way out of the maze.   
  
Drake stepped around the corner and found himself standing on a dueling platform. The platform raised him up the traditional height and then he found himself facing two strange duelists. Both were obviously Chinese, one wearing a green outfit, the other an orange one. One had the word Kyu on his forehead, and the other hand the word Mei.   
  
Drake groaned as he reversed the order and put the words together. Together those words made the word Labyrinth. If that was the case then these two...and considering what he had just escaped from.... "You're the Maze Brothers, Mei and Kyu!"   
  
It was Mei who first spoke, grinning widely as he did so. "We are glad you could make it to the real fun and games."   
  
Kyu continued, "And equally glad that you already know our names."   
  
"Though you have now escaped our maze", said Mei.  
  
"You have now reached the end of your days!" With that the two brothers started laughing, and the dueling platform activated. In mere moments Drake assumed he would be forced into a duel, and since these two were known for being double duelists, then he'd have a partner at any moment. Things were just starting to get interesting.  
  
*************************************  
  
"Armor Deck?" Varon's only response was to grin widely and draw his opening hand. Kensai grumbled to himself and then drew his own opening hand, taking six cards because as the challenged duelist it was his right to take the first turn. (KLP: 8000/Varon: 8000)  
  
Kensai stared down at his hand, looking back up at Varon occasionally. He had no idea what sort of deck an armor deck might be, so he'd have to play it safe at first. He had two cards in his hand that he could start off with and get a decent start without committing too much to a first move.   
  
"Alright, I'll begin this duel by summoning Wandering Hero Freed(1700/1000) in attack mode!" The monster shimmered into view in front of him, revealing a blonde haired knight with a shining sword in hand and crimson cape billowing out behind him. This was one of the key cards to Kensai's deck, as it was one of the light type monsters he needed to bring out his ultimate warrior.  
  
Varon grinned as if he had been expecting something like this. The goggle-head shook his hand and slapped himself upside the head. "I knew you'd be using a warrior deck. What else would someone calling themself Kensai use? Anyways, don't expect simple brute force to beat me, I won't allow it."   
  
Kensai just grinned and took out his magic card, ready to use it to take a key advantage in this duel as quickly as he could. He didn't know exactly what was going on, but he did know that he had to find his friends as soon as he could. If Varon was as good he hoped, then maybe he'd invite Varon along. They would need all the help they could get.   
  
"I play the magic card Wandering Samurai! This lets me special summon a monster from my deck that is of the same name as a monster on my field!" Kensai's magic card appeared, revealing an image of a samurai with red hair and a cross-shaped scar on his cheek. Varon grinned happily as Kensai's deck lit up and then a second blonde haired warrior appeared on the field.   
  
"I don't know what sort of power I'm up against, so I'll simply end my turn here." As he passed the turn to Varon he noticed something. Varon wasn't drawing from his deck, instead a card popped out from the middle of his deck. The goggle-head grabbed the card and placed it in his hand.   
  
"According the effect of Psychic Head Armor I can add an armor monster to my hand instead of having a draw phase. But that won't be all, because aside from that, as it's the normal ability of Psychic Head Armor, I still have its Deck Master effect." He grinned and pulled two of his cards free from his hand, ready to play them.   
  
"This duel is really something important to me, not just because it will be my fifth straight victory, but because it represents my strength. Every duel is a part of my strength, and so I will win this duel to prove just how powerful my heart and body are. Now, activate magic card Play Nice! During this turn damage that would be dealt through battle to me is cut in half and divided amongst the players."   
  
The magic card appeared, represented by an image of two duel monsters, Buster Blader and Dark Magician, playing ring around the rosy. Kensai rolled his eyes at the sight of the card and waited for Varon to continue his move. "Continuing I summon the first of my armors, Big Bang Blow Armor(0/500) in attack mode!"   
  
The monster summoned was...well it was an armor piece. It was a right armor, with a blue band appearing from the shoulder joint to the elbow joint. Below the elbow it was an ivory white color with what looked like a form of brass knuckles (though in white) on the hand.   
  
Varon grinned and held his right arm out horizontally. Kensai was shocked as the armor zoomed towards him and then opened up, attaching itself to his arm. It shut together with the snap of electricity and Varon had his armor. "I'll attack your first Wandering Hero Freed!"  
  
Kensai blinked in surprise as Varon literally started closing the distance between them, arm raised as if poised to strike. The Wandering Hero casually slashed at him with its sword, but Varon raised his armored arm and blocked the strike. He then followed up by punching the warrior in the face, knocking it backwards. As he did this the armor started to glow and then it exploded, covering Varon and the two warriors with smoke.   
  
Slowly the smoke cleared and when it was all gone Varon was standing there, just a few feet in front of Kensai, completely unharmed. However both of Kensai's monsters were gone, and he looked down at his DD2 staring in horror as his life points trickled down. (KLP: 3750) "What's going on?"  
  
Varon grinned and wandering back to his original spot, about ten feet away from Kensai. Then he selected two more cards from his hand and casually started fiddling with them. "My Big Bang Blow Armor, when it is destroyed in battle, its effect activates. All monsters on the field are destroyed and damage is dealt to both players equal to the total attack strengths of their monsters. Not only that but Play Nice spread a bit of extra damage to you." (VLP: 7150)   
  
Kensai gulped as he realized exactly how bad such a situation was. There wasn't even a single card in the game of Duel Monsters that could have such an effect, but here this little armor monster had it, and it required no sacrifice. Worse, by its own effect since it had no attack strength Varon could easily destroy a field full of monsters with it in one turn and eliminate his opponent.   
  
If all the armor monsters had that kind of power then Kensai would be in trouble, so he just had to hope that Big Bang Blow was the strongest of them. But even that wasn't much help since each turn Varon could just add another to his hand...unless it was restricted. "I'll set up two cards on the field. End turn."   
  
Varon flashed him a grin as the two cards appeared vertically in front of him. They weren't necessarily a huge threat, but Kensai had to take the chance of it. With his current life point disadvantage he would need to take out Varon's life points as quickly as he could. "Draw card!"  
  
He glanced down at the card he had drawn, and then back at his hand. He had an available combo, but he'd have to hope that it worked, else he'd be knee deep in trouble. If it did work he'd be able to even things out a little bit. "My first card is called Knighted From The Grave! I can activate this card only if I have warriors in my cemetery whose levels is equal to or greater then a warrior in my hand. If so I can normal summon that warrior without sacrifices."   
  
He selected another card from his hand and then played it to the field, quickly revealing the strongest monster he had drawn in this duel at the beginning. With a direct attack from it he'd be able to do some serious damage to Varon. "I summon Swift Knight Gaia of the Gale(2300/2100)!" The knight rode out on the field, wielding its lances with great vigor, ready to take apart his opponent.   
  
"I'll set one card down on the field. Gaia, attack Varon directly!" First his face down card appeared on the field, and then the knight started galloping across the field towards Varon. The goggle-head awaited Gaia almost eagerly, and Kensai didn't know if it was because a trap had been set or because Varon was just being unusual.   
  
"Open face down card, Magnet Armor! I special summon Big Bang Blow from the cemetery to the field in attack mode!" Kensai cried out in surprise as the right arm reappeared on the field and equipped back onto Varon's arm. The brown-haired duelist grinned and reached out with his armored fist, grabbing hold of Gaia's lance and stopping the attack.   
  
The armor started to glow and then it exploded as it had in the turn before. The smoke quickly faded away, leaving nothing but Varon and a single card on the field. The destruction of his powerful knight was a fierce blow to Kensai's life points...but nothing was happening to Varon's. "My remaining face down card is called Armor Protection. During this turn I take no life point damage from when my armor monsters are involved in battle." (KLP: 1450)  
  
Kensai grimaced, realizing exactly how bad the situation really was. This was truly the worst he had ever been in a duel. It wasn't that he was playing poorly, it was that these armor monsters had caught him off guard with their enormous power. Now he was faced with a severe deficiency in the life point department. He desperately needed some way to make a come back...and he might be able to do that, he just had to wait and hope. "End!"  
  
Varon grinned and drew a card from the top of his deck this time, instead of getting an armor monster from his deck. To Kensai's surprise as his turn started Big Bang Blow appeared on the field again, rising up from the ground. "What's this? What's going on?"  
  
Varon grinned again and pointed with his thumb to the floating helmet behind him. His Deck Master. Kensai groaned as he realized the effect of the Deck Master...he just had to hope he was incorrect. "During each of my standby phases Psychic Head Armor lets me special summon one of my armor monsters from the cemetery, so I'll just keep recycling my Big Bang Blow until you've been finished off!" Kensai had sadly been correct. The Deck Master effect was what he had feared it to be.   
  
"Now I'll begin my turn by simply summoning this new armor monster, Buster Knuckle Armor(0/0)! Next its effect will take place, boosting its attack by two hundred for each armor monster on the field. In this situation Psychic Head Armor is counted, boosting my new armor to six hundred attack points." Varon's newest armor was a left arm, this one with spiked knuckles almost like rockets. If its only effect was the power increase then Kensai was fairly safe, if not he was pretty screwed.   
  
"Here I come!" Kensai raised his arms in defense as Varon charged across the field, fists at the ready. As soon as Varon took a swing at him he deflect the blow, letting it slide past him. Because Varon had committed so much to the blow, Kensai was able to sweep the goggle-head's feet and shove him backwards with one hand. Varon recovered quickly and stood up, grinning like an idiot. Despite the fact that he hadn't connected, the real damage had been done. (KLP: 850)  
  
Varon flashed Kensai another grin and then motioned for Kensai to start his turn. Obviously Varon didn't think much of Kensai if he left a weak monster like Buster Knuckle open for an attack with no traps to protect it. "I summon Swift Black Ninja(1700/1000). I'll then attack your Buster Knuckle with it!"   
  
The black clad ninja zipped across the field at deadly speeds, ready to cut down the much weaker monster. Varon held his two fists up, and then moved his right arm in the way of the oncoming attack. The ninjas blow fell upon Big Bang Blow, and the armor started glowing. "Know this for the next time we might duel, one of the two staple armor effects is that if I've got more then one on the field I can choose which one you attack, so I've selected Big Bang Blow!"   
  
Kensai suddenly grinned and flipped his face down card, revealing a warrior on a funeral pyre, thousands gathered him in his final moments. "I figured something like that would happen, in fact I was waiting on you using Big Bang Blow next turn, but this works as well. Reveal, A Hero's Farewell! I can activate this when an effect would destroy one of my warriors. This will consume my warrior for its effect instead, and remove all of my opponent's monsters from the game!"   
  
Varon cried out in shock as a blaze of fire whipped up around him, quickly consuming the ninja and his two armors. When the flames faded away Varon stood there, looking very shocked indeed. "Its not over Varon, because now I play Warrior's Tomb! According to its effect I can draw one card from each warrior sub-type in my cemetery, giving me three more cards!"   
  
Varon watched in horrified fascination as Kensai drew three more cards, bringing his hand up to a total of four cards. Then his opponent continued his play. "I'll now play Warrior Reborn to revive Swift Knight Gaia of the Gale in attack mode!" The purple armored knight shimmered into view from the ground and took his place in front of Kensai, the horse's hoofs pawing at the ground, ready for action.   
  
"I'll continue this trend by playing Brave Warrior Charge! By its effect I can give one of my warriors a second battle phase during this turn! As that is the case I'll have Gaia attack directly!" The knight stampeded across the field and caught Varon in the chest with its lance, picking him up and knocking him backwards several feet. With that action it was his life point's turn to take a severe dip. Kensai had managed a come back. (VLP: 4850)  
  
"Now I'll set up a card and end my turn. Tell me Varon, is that strength enough in heart and mind for you? Or were you hoping for more then that? If you are, then I'm ready for anything, because my determination knows no bounds, and my warriors and I won't stop until all our opponents have been defeated!"   
  
Varon grinned broadly as he plucked a card from his deck, bringing his hand up to three cards. He grabbed one of his cards and held it up, waiting to play it while he started to speak. "I wasn't expecting you to be such a strong duelist, and to be honest I'm overjoyed. I'm really starting to enjoy this duel, and I hope that we can push each other to our limits. To see to that, I have the necessary card to make us both duel our very hardest."  
  
Kensai grinned, ready for whatever Varon had to throw at him. No single card was gonna make him stop dueling, not when he was already in full swing. If Varon thought that this card would push them to their limits, then let him bring it on. "To insure that neither duelists back downs an inch I shall use the card granted to me by a very special organization. I now invoke the ultimate power, Seal of Orichalcos!"   
  
Kensai's eyes widened as a green barrier started to spring up around them, and a five pointed star within a strange circle appeared around them. As he watched Varon's eyes lit up with glee as an identical symbol appeared on his forehead. "What's going on?"  
  
"This is it, this is the true power of the Doom Organization! The Seal will bind us both in this duel, and grant me dark power. We must both duel our very hardest because in a sealed duel...the loser forfeits their soul!"  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: There ya go! Continue into the next chapter to see what happens. Oh, and Time Mage...ah forget it, you'll find out soon enough.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Dalin: Reward of Summons, Pleasantries of Heaven, Hand of Heaven, Return of the Hand, Payment of Debt, A Gathering of Angels, Angelic Light Ceremony. (Airtos and its summoning card are from the Doom Arc. Pump Up and Excalibur also appear in the Doom Arc, both played by Yugi.)  
  
Kensai: Wandering Samurai(yes, in honor of Ruruouni Kenshin as is Kensai's last name, Shinomori(Aoshi Shinomori anyone?).), Knighted From The Grave, A Hero's Farewell, Warrior's Tomb, Brave Warrior Charge  
  
Varon: Play Nice, Armor Protection (all other cards played so far by Varon appear in the Doom Arc used by...well Varon.) 


	22. Maze Brothers and the Seal of Orichalcos

Disclaimer: You have to understand by now that I don't own Yugioh.  
  
Author's Note: And now, the continuation of something completely different. And don't worry if it doesn't seem as exciting or good as it was at the end of Battle City. This is just the start, and things will pick up.   
  
"Always forgive your enemies; nothing annoys them so much." -Oscar Wilde  
  
Chapter Twenty-One: Maze Brothers and the Seal of Orichalcos  
  
Drake shook his head as the two maze brothers started up the field, activating the holo projectors. He grinned as he opened the little hatch on the side of the duel disk, and pulled free a wire which he used to connect the disk to the platform. This way he could play as he wanted to. "Okay, and what exactly did you two have in mind? And who is my partner?"  
  
Mei chuckled evilly and gestured to the exit behind Drake. With that gesture a gate slammed down, trapping Drake in and keeping anyone else from entering. "This duel will be of a special system. Two on one, under Deck Master rules. Each player creates a deck from cards selected and then chooses one monster to be Deck Master. You can summon that monster but beware, for its destruction is your doom. Of course each Deck Master also has an effect the player can use."   
  
Drake grimaced as holographic cards started floating up in front of him, and he slowly started picking out his cards. He had to be careful and choose his deck well, otherwise he wouldn't be able to beat these two idiots. Two on one wasn't exactly fair, so he'd probably have to be in top form. But maybe not...this Deck Master system gave him an advantage. "I've now created my deck, and my Deck Master shall be the mighty Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!"   
  
The Maze Brothers nearly had a collective heart attack as Drake's massive god creature appeared behind him, ready to provide its support. With its great power and its immunities, he could probably win the duel by summoning it in his first turn, but he'd play it safe for the moment.   
  
Mei opened their duel with his hand of six cards, choosing to go first out of the three of them. The order that was announced was Mei, Kyu, and finally Drake. Which meant if one pulled an advantage on him, then the other would be able to follow up. "I'll set a monster in defense mode, and set one card face down. End turn!"  
  
Kyu picked up his sixth card and glanced over at his brother. The green clothed duelist nodded in response, and Kyu forcefully slammed his next card down on the field. "I sacrifice my brother's face down Sangan(1000/600) to summon Labyrinth Wall(0/3000) in defense mode. Next I activate the effect of my Deck Master, Giant Soldier of Stone, to double my wall's defense power!"   
  
Drake grimaced as the massive labyrinth filled up the entire field, bringing entirely new rules into play, rules that Drake had only heard about. This would definitely make the duel more interesting. Mei grinned as he announced his own move. "I shall continue with this trend by activating my own Deck Master's ability, the ability of One-Eyed Shield Dragon grants my brother's wall an immunity to magic and trap cards!"  
  
Kyu ended his turn after his brother finished searching his deck for a monster, courtesy of Sangan's effect. Finally it became Drake's turn. "I'll set two cards face down, and then summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000) in attack mode. I'll have Neo advance four spaces into the maze!" His spellcaster appeared on the field, and lit the way with his sword by making it glow blue. Then he walked forward four spaces, stopping only part way into the maze.   
  
The turn went back to Mei, who quickly grabbed a new card, bringing his hand back up to six cards. There was no telling what card he had grabbed, and it could make this worse for Drake. "I play Premature Burial at a cost of eight hundred life points so I can resummon Sangan. Then I set a monster in defense mode. Finally I shall set a card face down!" The furry little demon creature appeared on the field, and next to him a spot on the board glowed. But because he hadn't advanced either of them, they remained where they were. (MLP: 3200)  
  
Kyu grinned as he picked up his next card, and immediately selected a card from his hand which he played to the field. "I sacrifice my brother's Sangan and Witch of the Black Forest to summon Sanga of the Thunder(2600/2200)!" The first piece, and strongest, of the Gate Guardian set appeared on the field, and Mei started searching his deck for two monsters. Whatever they were planning...not good.  
  
"I shall chain my brother's sacrifice with my face down card, Ultimate Offering, allowing each player to pay 500 life points for each extra normal summons!" The card flipped up, and the two brothers smirked to each other, ready for whatever damage they had planned. If Drake was right...then pretty quickly the Gate Guardian would hit the field.   
  
"I pay a total of fifteen hundred life points so I can summon my own Sangan, Witch of the Black Forest, and finally sacrifice them for Suijin(2500/2200) in attack mode! Finally I begin searching my deck for two monsters, and end my turn." The second piece of the set appeared on the field, ready to deal out damage to whoever tried to attack it. With its effect it made a very dangerous opponent. (KLP: 2500)  
  
Drake rolled his eyes and picked up a card, glancing at it only briefly before he placed it on the field. "I summon Mystical Elf(800/2000) in defense mode. Then I'll advance both monsters four spaces into the maze." His blue elf appeared on the field and slowly followed the path his Neo had taken. Neo advanced even further into the maze...and then suddenly dropped out of sight.   
  
Mei cackled evilly as Neo went under, caught in a deep hole. "You're monster has stumbled upon the trap that I set within the maze, my Trap Hole to be exact!" Drake grimaced and passed his turn on to Mei, who gladly took it and drew another card.   
  
"I'll set a monster in defense, and then pay one thousand life points to summon another monster and then sacrifice both for Kazejin(2400/2200) in attack mode!" He grinned as the final piece appeared on the field, ready for whatever they had in mind. Mei casually passed the turn to his brother, who was eagerly fingering a card in his hand, most likely the Gate Guardian. (MLP: 2200)  
  
"I begin by sacrificing the three pieces for Gate Guardian(3750/3400). Next, I shall play Polymerization to fuse my Cannon Soldier with my brother's Giga-tech Wolf to form Labyrinth Tank(2400/2400)! I will continue by advancing my tank into the maze by seven spaces, putting it only 13 more spaces away from reaching your life points!"   
  
The spiked tank started advancing, however it was soon stopped by Drake's commanding voice. "This move wouldn't work normally, but thanks to your corrupted rules I can now activate Trap Reflector as Trap Hole, dropping your Tank out of existence!" Kyu grimaced as his newest monster vanished into the abyss of the trap that Drake had set for it, destroying it for good.   
  
"Very well, I shall end this turn with one last action, the reason why we summoned the Gate Guardian. Our monster has a ranged attack, and its too large to move through the maze. However it can attack anything within the maze, and your life points directly should you not have any protective monsters. So go Gate Guardian, destroy Mystical Elf!" The massive beast gathered its energy and sent a sphere of combined power at his elf, who was unable to defend itself and was easily overwhelmed and destroyed.   
  
Drake picked up his card and grinned as he decided that he would play the game that they had been playing. All they had been doing was waiting, and gathering their forces. He would just do the same thing. He simply set a monster face down and ended his turn.  
  
Mei gladly drew his next card, looking at his hand of three cards. He still had a monster he had taken through the effect of his witch, a monster with hardly any defense points, but the second highest base attack strength of any level four monster. "I start by summoning Jirai Gumo(2200/100) in attack mode! Then I'll play Monster Reborn to revive Sanga of the Thunder in attack mode! My monsters will advance four spaces and seven, respectively. Now, Gate Guardian, destroy his defense monster!"   
  
The land mine spider and the massive Sanga moved into the maze as the giant guardian above them launched another combined attack that easily obliterated Drake's face down monster. However he quickly replaced it with another monster, since it had been Apprenticeship Magician.   
  
"You may have kept up your defenses, but now that its my turn I shall have my Gate Guardian destroy it!" The guardian unleashed a third attack that proved equally as fatal as each of his others, destroying the second Apprenticeship Magician. Drake casually set a monster from his deck onto the field as per its effect.   
  
"Now, the magic card, Sacrifice Bomb! This permanent magic card allows me to sacrifice one monster on the field each turn to deal damage to your life points equal to its attack. So we shall part with Jirai Gumo to part you with more then half of your life points!" A bag of explosives strapped themselves to the giant spider, which hurled itself into the air and then exploded, shaking the entire room. Drake heard an odd cracking sound, but ignored it for the moment. (DLP: 1800)  
  
Drake shook his head at how pathetic these two had been throughout the duel. He added a fourth card to his hand and then grabbed his defense monster and flipped it face up. "I'll start by flipping Old Vindictive Magician to destroy the Gate Guardian." The two maze brothers gasped in horror as their prized monster exploded into tiny little pieces with a single blast from his aging magician.   
  
"I'll continue by sacrificing my magician for Magical Marionette(2000/1000). Then I'll follow that up with the magic card Graceful Charity, which grants my marionette a magic counter, boosting its attack by two hundred." Drake casually deposited his two chosen cards and grinned as his little manakin, a creature wielding two daggers and on strings, grew more powerful.   
  
"Continuing my trend of magic cards I'll play Monster Reborn to revive the Dark Magician(2500/2100), granting my marionette the second magic counter." The familiar purple robed spellcaster hit the field, joining the ever strengthening marionette. Together they made a powerful fighting force, but Drake's combo wasn't over yet. He had a duel to win in this turn.  
  
"Now I play a very special magic card, Baptism of Light and Dark! By its effect I can sacrifice my face up Dark Magician to special summon...Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600)!" His Dark Magician shattered, and was quickly replaced by the more powerful blue skinned spellcaster, who twirled his staff overhead before resting it on the ground.   
  
"According to my monster's effect I can now select a magic card in my cemetery and add it to my hand. I select Monster Reborn, and then play it to once again revive the Dark Magician!" He grinned as his powerful magician reappeared, ready to fight once again. Not only that, but by playing Monster Reborn again he had increased his marionette's attack power to twenty-eight hundred.   
  
"I now discard what's left of my hand as the summoning cost of my Deck Master, moving Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000) onto the field!" He deposited his single remaining card into his cemetery, and watched as his god creature advanced onto the field, completely ignoring the weaker members of the group. To him they were just bugs.   
  
"The final part of my combo involves the second use of my marionette's counters, by removing two I can destroy one monster on my opponent's field. So I remove all four to destroy Sanga and Labyrinth Wall!" The marionette hurled its two daggers at the two monsters, destroying them both easily, clearing the way for Drake by removing the obstacle of the maze. Seeing what they were faced with the two maze brothers dropped their cards and started trying to climb out, screaming in terror.   
  
"Now my monsters, attack together!" The three magicians cast their various items of power together and gathered with their collective power a massive ball of energy. Once it was ready Obelisk grabbed it up with his hand and then hurled the Massive Ball of Energy(11300/0) towards his opponents.   
  
It exploded in front of them, instantly dropping their life points to zero and winning Drake the duel. But that was just the simplest thing that had happened. As Drake watched, horrified, the cracking sound returned, and the entire stadium split in half and start dropping down the cliff face, to deposit them all into the craggy rocks below.   
  
Drake hastily grabbed up his cards and started scrambling up the falling platform. He had mere seconds left when he jumped, and then the platform fell away, crashing several moments later into the bottom of the ravine, exploding terribly. Drake hit the edge and scrabbled to hold on, barely managing to get a grip of the rocky ground. He was left hanging by his bare hands over the rocks below.   
  
Slowly he started to pull himself up, but he soon discovered that the ground wasn't fully stable, and the rocks broke away, letting him fall to his doom. "AAAAAAA!!!!!" He squeezed his eyes shut, not fully understanding how he could meet an ignominious end at the hands of...well rocks. He would have been better off staying dead then just to come back and get killed by stone.   
  
His screams stopped suddenly as something caught his arm, and jerked him to a halt. He blinked and turned his gaze up to see what had stopped him. He discovered that someone had grabbed hold of his arm. A someone who oddly enough had one blue and one brown eye. "Hold on, I'll get you up."  
  
Together the two of them managed to get Drake back on solid ground and away from that unsettling death. He took a deep breath and took a look at his savior, who had come through the now open doorway. Obviously he had gone through the maze himself and been locked out when Drake's duel started. Lucky he had been there.   
  
His savior was tall, about the same height as Drake himself, and roughly the same age as well. He wore a white t-shirt that was almost completely covered by a black vest that he let hang open, blowing in the breeze, while his light-weight black pants tugged in an attempt to escape with the wind. On his right arm was a bright white duel disk, proving that he was a duelist. "Thanks. I'm Drake. Might I ask the name of my savior?"  
  
The strange duelist smiled slightly and offered his hand to Drake, as he gave his name. "I'm Kai Kaethan, glad to meet you." Drake took his hand and shook it, then let go and turned away. He started heading towards the only path out, a small trail that would lead away from the maze and towards...well somewhere different.   
  
Drake blinked and turned around at the sound of footsteps. To his surprise Kai was just a few feet behind him, also walking in the same direction. He grinned and held out his hand to stop the other duelist. "Look, I appreciate you saving me, but I have important stuff to do, and I don't want you following me."  
  
Kai just shook his head and brushed past Drake, continuing along. "I'm not following you, this is the only exit!" Drake sighed and started walking again. It would seem that for the moment he and Kai were traveling partners, but only until he found Taichi.  
  
*******************************************************  
  
Varon grinned broadly as he plucked a card from his deck, bringing his hand up to three cards. He grabbed one of his cards and held it up, waiting to play it while he started to speak. "I wasn't expecting you to be such a strong duelist, and to be honest I'm overjoyed. I'm really starting to enjoy this duel, and I hope that we can push each other to our limits. To see to that, I have the necessary card to make us both duel our very hardest."  
  
Kensai grinned, ready for whatever Varon had to throw at him. No single card was gonna make him stop dueling, not when he was already in full swing. If Varon thought that this card would push them to their limits, then let him bring it on. "To insure that neither duelists back downs an inch I shall use the card granted to me by a very special organization. I now invoke the ultimate power, Seal of Orichalcos!"   
  
Kensai's eyes widened as a green barrier started to spring up around them, and a five pointed star within a strange circle appeared around them. As he watched Varon's eyes lit up with glee as an identical symbol appeared on his forehead. "What's going on?"  
  
"This is it, this is the true power of the Doom Organization! The Seal will bind us both in this duel, and grant me dark power. We must both duel our very hardest because in a sealed duel...the loser forfeits their soul!"   
  
Kensai grimaced as the seal fully took over, filling the dueling area with an eerie green light. He reached out and tapped the edge of the circle, and received a vicious spark in return, burning his finger. So escaping wasn't going to happen. In that case he was just going to have to duel his very hardest. It was win...no. There was no choice but victory in this situation.  
  
Varon grinned as he took another card from his hand and held it up in front of him, ready to play it. Then he slipped it into the activation slot, and let its magic do its work. "I didn't use this card before because I didn't believe it was necessary...but now I'll win this duel in one turn by the power of my magic card, Full Armor Gravitation!"   
  
The magic card that appeared displayed a person fully equipped with various armors and he was glowing with an intensely bright light. Varon grabbed at his deck and immediately started slipping cards off the top. "By the effect of Full Armor Gravitation I can draw ten cards, and of those ten cards I can automatically special summon any armor monsters I draw!"   
  
Kensai's eyes widened, but then he grinned, realizing the flaw in the card. Ten cards was a lot, but there was a specific rule that would keep him from getting as much out of the deal as he was hoping. "Forgetting something Varon? You can only play a total of five monsters. So any extras you draw will just clog up your hand."  
  
Varon just smirked and kept drawing until he had drawn all ten cards that he was required to draw, and then he quickly started playing monsters. First one, then a second, soon four, and to Kensai's surprise...seven. "One of the first effects of the Seal of Orichalcos is that it lets me play my monsters in my magic zones, allowing me to summon up to ten monsters!"   
  
Varon's smirk just grew wider as the seven monsters appeared in quick succession, one after another the seven armors equipped onto Varon's body. Legs, a chest piece, left arm, right arm, a little shield over his left arm, a little gun turret on his right arm, and finally a Psychic Head Armor that closed over his head. "Now, with these seven armors, I have formed the unstoppable Borgman!"  
  
Kensai clenched his fists tight as the full borgman was assembled. Because of the way this was working out he had no idea exactly what each armor did, or even each armor's stats. Hell, he didn't even know what their names were. "Whatever sort of power your armors have, I'm ready to take them on. Seal or no seal, I won't be giving this duel up. You'll have to give me everything you've got to win this. Now lets do this!"  
  
Varon lifted up his right arm and grinned as he started sprinting towards Kensai. He had chosen the single armor monster he was going to attack with, and whatever it was, Kensai was sure that its effect was dangerous. It wasn't Big Bang Blow, but it look deadly. "You want me to give it everything I've got? Well here it is, Busterpile Armor(0+500/0)!"   
  
He charged across the field at full speed, and was nearly to Gaia, his outstretched arm ready to deal a killing blow. What Kensai didn't realize was that when Busterpile attacked a monster he negated battle damage, destroyed both monsters, and dealt 500 direct damage. In that way he'd be able to cut Kensai's life points down, and the duel would be his. "HERE I COME!"  
  
Kensai grinned as his goggle-headed opponent neared his monster, ready to strike it down with whatever effect his Busterpile had. However imminent soul loss was not on Kensai's list of things to do for the day. "I refuse to be defeated! Go Jack of All Trades!"   
  
His face down card flipped up, revealing an image of Jack's Knight praying over its sword. The text at the bottom of his trap card revealed all that Varon needed to know, and as close as he was he could read exactly what it said. "Now by the effect of my trap card I sacrifice my Gaia to special summon Jack's Knight(1900/1000) from my deck to the field!"   
  
Varon skidded to a halt as his target suddenly exploded in front of him. Kensai's deck started glowing, and several seconds later the light shot from his deck and onto the field in front of Varon. Varon blinked several times to clear the light from his eyes, and suddenly found himself face to face with Kensai's new monster.   
  
Jack's Knight was a tall blonde warrior in white and purple armor. He held a fancy shield in one hand and a shiny broad sword in the other. He was a monster that hadn't been in Kensai's deck until just recently...when he had assembled a brand new deck.   
  
Varon scoffed at the appearance of this new monster and raised his fist again, ready to continue the attack. "Why sacrifice a stronger monster for a weaker one? I can destroy this monster as readily as I could the last one, so it will hardly make any difference." He started punching, but suddenly electricity jumped up from the seal beneath him and stopped his hand, shocking him and sending him stumbling backwards.   
  
Kensai grinned as Varon shook his arm in pain. The goggle-head vainly tried to figure out exactly what had happened, but he wasn't having any luck. So Kensai decided to explain it for him. "That shock was just your seal enforcing the current rules. While Jack's Knight and Jack of All Trades are on the field together you get no battle phase. Therefore your attack was invalid. Sorry, but it looks like your turn is about over."  
  
The other duelist scowled and then stalked back to his side of the field. However, when he turned around a big smile was on his face. It was obvious that despite being stopped Varon was happy that Kensai was continuing to duel his hardest. It was for situations like this one, situations that pushed people to their limits, that Varon lived for. "I'll just set two cards face down and end my turn. Congratulations Kensai on stopping me, I expected nothing less."  
  
Kensai slowly slid his next card off the top of his deck, silently wondering exactly what some of the duelists he knew would do in this situation. He knew that Drake would insist on continuing to fight, even if the situation looked hopeless. Kirani would say that a duel like this was only a trial from which to garner strength.   
  
He added the card to his hand but didn't look down at it. Quietly he whispered his truth to the world, hoping that it was heard by the people he wanted to hear it. "You are both right. I won't back down, not even and inch, and I will emerge from this stronger then ever. I won't be useless to anyone anymore. Before I couldn't fight Taichi, but I will make sure that I have the strength to fight him if I am needed to."  
  
He let out his breath and then dropped his eyes to his hand, looking it over briefly. He stared at the two cards, and then grinned as an idea came to him. Already his determination was paying off. "Okay, I begin by summoning King's Knight(1600/1400) in attack mode!"  
  
As he played the monster onto the field, it appeared in all its glory. A bearded blonde man dressed in fanciful orange and white armor, with a purple cape flaring out behind him. He also held a sword in his hand, and each wrist had a spiked bracer on it. In his left hand was a sturdy orange shield. At his appearance Jack's Knight silently bowed, greeting his king.   
  
"Now I play a magic card made available by your idea to select cards. Such a card is normally virtually impossible to find, and is quite new. It's the card Payment of Debt!" He deposited the card in his cemetery and then drew three more cards off the top of his deck, putting him ahead of Varon's hand by one card. Now he had the necessary cards to continue this duel for real.   
  
"I'll set one card face down, and play Reinforcement to the Army!" He ejected his deck according his card's effect and started searching his deck for a level four or lower warrior to add to his hand. Once he found what he was looking for he reshuffled his deck and then put it back in its slot. He was just about ready to take back this duel.   
  
"I have no idea what your armors are capable of, so I won't risk attacking. I'm safe for the moment since you have no battle phase. I'll just end my turn at that, and next turn I intend to take this duel in hand and win the day!" He grinned and hoped for the best, knowing that victory wasn't certain. Even the cards he had now couldn't insure victory, but he was willing to bet it all on his strategy. That was enough for now.  
  
Varon started his turn by taking a card that was popped out of his deck. That meant he was using the effect of Psychic Head Armor to choose an armor monster to add to his hand. Whatever it was, Kensai was ready to handle it. He wasn't going to be defeated by a bunch of weird new monsters that he had never heard of. "Hey Kensai, you may have had me stopped last turn, but my next armor monster will let me clinch this duel. Go, Breaker Armor(0+500/1000)!"   
  
Kensai started to worry when he heard the term breaker in the monster's name. He knew of two monsters that had breaker in their name, and both had effects that could destroy magic and trap cards. If this was a similar case then he was in trouble.   
  
The new armor that appeared was in fact, a full suit of armor. It was a black high tech looking suit, similar to the compiled borgman form that Varon had assembled. This armor however had no helmet, obviously leaving an opening for Psychic Head Armor. "Now I'll use my monster's effect, by sacrificing him to negate the effect of your Jack of All Trades...permanently!"   
  
Kensai grimaced as the suit of armor used rocket boosters to zip across the field towards him. Once there it stopped its boosters and whirled around, grabbing hold of his trap card in a bear hug, and staying that way. Kensai gulped grimly as he realized the implication. Varon now had a battle phase.   
  
"You know, originally I was going to use Busterpile to destroy your monster and deal five hundred damage. But now I can do much better! You see one of my monsters is Burning Knuckle Armor(0+500/1000)!" As he spoke he held up his left fist, demonstrating his armor monster by displaying it to Kensai. Whatever this monster did, it was bound to be bad for Kensai.  
  
"Burning Knuckle has two effects, but the first is the only you should be worried about. Just like my Buster Knuckle it gains two hundred points for each armor on the field, and counting my Deck Master that's a total of sixteen hundred bonus attack points, bringing him up to 2100!" Kensai grimaced as he realized that the bonus made that single armor stronger then even his Jack's Knight. Definitely not good.   
  
"Aren't you miscalculating a little bit? Even if you use it to destroy my King's Knight you'll only do five hundred damage ,the same as would have happened if you used Busterpile. So what's the difference?" Varon just grinned and pressed a button on his duel disk, in order to activate one of his face down cards.   
  
"This is what! Activate Armor of Inferno, switching all armor monsters into attack mode and boosting their attack power by one thousand!" The card flipped up, revealing a the image of the borgman surrounded by an aura of flames. As this happened the same aura of flames lit up around Varon, granting him a huge power boost, bringing Burning Knuckle up to thirty-one hundred points, more then enough to finish of his life points.   
  
"Here it is, the end of this duel! I attack with Burning Knuckle to destroy Jack's Knight!" This time all he did was punch forwards, and a get of flame erupted from his hand, streaking towards Kensai's knight. Kensai's eyes widened as he realized that he could really feel the heat of the flames...that fire was real!   
  
"I won't lose yet! Activate Weakening of Attack!" A ripple appeared in the air, absorbing the flames and keeping Kensai and his knights safe from the attack. Not only that but by its effect Varon's battle phase was immediately ended, further protecting Kensai. He let out a deep breath, relieved when Varon announced no counter move.   
  
"A good play Kensai, but it won't save you in the end. I've still got all my armors, and you won't be getting past them anytime soon. Shortly I will prove my strength and make the half-way mark in my streak of victories!"   
  
The warrior duelist looked down at the deck in his duel disk. From that deck he needed one card, if he didn't get that card then he had no idea how he'd be able to win this duel. He had only one strategy available to him, and no cards to let him stop Varon's assault in the next turn. This one draw could mean everything.   
  
"I put all my faith in this one draw!" He pulled the card free and then held it above his head for a moment. Then he forcefully brought his arm down, bringing the card directly in front of his face. Slowly a grin spread across his features, causing Varon to start to worry.   
  
"My faith has rewarded me with the one card that I can use to turn this duel around. Now first I'll summon Queen's Knight(1500/1600) to complete my set!" Kensai's newest monster was a woman with long blonde hair. She wore bright red armor and had a tall red helmet. In her right hand she held a triangular shield, and in her left she held a stout sword. Jack's Knight payed her deference with a slightly shallower bow then he had given to the king.   
  
"Now for this card, the card that will change the tide of this duel in my favor! I play Royal Straight!" He slammed the card down, and in quick succession his three monsters shattered into dust particles. First went Jack's Knight. Then went the queen. Finally the king went, making way for something greater, something deadlier.   
  
"By its effect I sacrifice Jack's Knight, Queen's Knight, and King's Knight so special summon Royal Flush(2400/1350) to the field!" The new monster appeared as a tall and muscular warrior dressed in green armor. His face was a pale light mask, and on the center of his chest was a bright red heart. This monster was going to be Varon's undoing.   
  
"Now since I've summoned it to the field I can bring about your defeat. I remove five monsters in my deck from play whose levels are 1-5! Then I can destroy all cards on my opponent's field!" Five cards ejected from Kensai's deck and he held them in his right hand. Slowly he started taking them, starting from the left, and sending them to his cemetery.   
  
"The first, a one star monster, represents the ten of a royal flush!" He took the card and casually deposited it in his cemetery. Then he continued his move, watching with delight as the terror on Varon's face started to grow.   
  
"The second, two star, is the Jack, second part of the royal flush!" The next card was sent to the cemetery, further increasing Varon's nervousness. With this move Kensai would be able to take control and dominate the duel with his strong monster.   
  
"Third is the three star, one of my favored monster, Marauding Captain. It will represent the queen, the second of the face cards!" He briefly showed Varon the image of his Marauding Captain before he sent that monster to the cemetery, to join the ones before it.   
  
"Next is the king, in this case another Swift Black Ninja!" He took the dark ninja and slipped him through the cemetery slot, dropping in on top of several other monsters. The monsters in Kensai's cemetery were starting to pile up now.   
  
"The final monster represents the ace, the last and most powerful of the face cards. This monster goes to the cemetery to deal the damage as vengeance of the loss of his two lesser selves. This monster is Freed the Matchless General!" The card that he showed was an almost identical warrior to the wandering heroes that Kensai had used before, except this one was older and had a mustache while the other monster was clean shaven.   
  
"Now the effect of my Royal Flush comes into play! Royal Straight Slasher!" The warrior monster held up its sword and slowly images of regular playing cards appeared. The first was a ten of hearts, the second a jack of hearts, then the queen, the king, and finally an ace. The cards were absorbed into the warrior's sword, and then he slashed down with his sword.   
  
Varon cried out as an intense wind ripped through his armors, shattering each and every one of them and his face down card. The wind picked him up and sent him flying backwards until he was stopped by the barrier of the seal. He was dropped painfully to the ground, and lay there for a moment. Then he pulled himself up.   
  
Kensai grimaced at seeing the seal intact. The effect of Royal Flush should have destroyed the seal...but apparently it wasn't something to be beaten so easily. In that case he would really have to finish Varon off, stripping him of his soul. He had hoped to avoid that, but now it seemed like there was no choice. "Royal Flush, attack Varon directly!"   
  
The warrior launched himself at Kensai's opponent and slashed him viciously across the chest. The attack knocked Varon off his feet and flipped him over. The tough goggle-head slammed forcefully onto the ground, but was able to get to his feet again, bruised but not beaten. "That was truly amazing Kensai, but you haven't beaten me yet. I won't give up at all, so if you want to win this you'll have to pull on even greater levels of skill, otherwise you'll lose this duel to me!" (VLP: 2450)  
  
"I was hoping to avoid making you lose your soul, but if that's what is absolutely necessary to win this duel and come out of it stronger...if you won't settle for anything less then victory or defeat...in that case I will continue to duel my hardest, and I will win this duel!" With that declaration he ended his turn, giving control back to the injured armor duelist.   
  
Varon drew his next card, and then to Kensai's amazement two armor monsters appeared quickly onto his field. The first was the blue helmet that was Psychic Head Armor. The second was the gauntlet fist that was Busterpile.   
  
"You see! Your time is over Kensai, because the effect of Psychic Head Armor allows it to be special summon to the field in attack mode if its in my cemetery at the start of my turn. And thanks to the effect of my Deck Master I was able to revive my Busterpile. Now your end is nearing!"  
  
The helmet slowly lowered onto his head, and the right arm piece connected to his arm with a spray of sparks. Now he was equipped with two pieces of armor, making him a partial borgman. What Kensai didn't see was within the helmet Varon was offered a different view of things. Power gauges let him see his opponent's physical health meter, the opposing monster's stats, and his opponent's life points.   
  
"I'll continue by summoning Advanced Shield(0+500/1500) to the field in defense mode!" A small but thick piece of white metal appeared in front of Varon, and it moved towards him, becoming equipped on the side of his right arm. Hopefully this monster didn't have some kind of deadly effect, but Kensai doubted that considering the trend of monsters he had faced.   
  
"I attack with Busterpile!" He raced across the field and slammed his fist into Royal Flush's face, shattering its mask and his armored fist. The armor and the warrior exploded into tiny pieces, and the effect of Varon's Busterpile dealt the damage to Kensai's life points, bringing him only centimeters away from defeat and becoming soulless. (KLP: 350)   
  
Kensai grimaced, looking at his current cards. He had no possible way of stopping the next attack. He had to draw something good, something other then a monster. If he summoned a monster he would accomplish nothing but give Varon a target to destroy the next turn with his Busterpile, thereby winning him the duel. "Damn it all, I need something now!"  
  
He grabbed the card free and then quickly placed it on the field, watching as the brown-backed card appeared vertically in front of him. He knew what it was, but Varon had no such luxury. He would have to gamble. "That one card face down is all."  
  
Varon grinned as he drew his next card, not bothering to use the effect of his Psychic Head Armor. He simply announced his first move, reviving an armor monster. "Since you didn't summon a monster I'm going to revive Buster Knuckle(1300/0) in attack mode. His attack strength is increased to thirteen hundred from the armor monsters on the field and the Seal of Orichalcos."  
  
The simpler armor rose up and equipped itself in place of Busterpile, the Advanced Shield automatically fitting under it. With this single monster Varon had the attack power to wipe out Kensai's life points in a single strike. "Its over!"   
  
He took off across the field to attack directly, but what he got was a face down card flipping up, revealing King's Knight kneeling. The background of the card was giant heart shape. "Its over only when one of us hits zero life points! My face down card King of Hearts lets me special summon King's Knight to the field and grants him a battle phase during this turn!"   
  
Varon was unable to stop as the powerful bearded warrior appeared on the field in front of Kensai, blocking the path to the warrior duelist's life points. "King's Knight, counterattack and destroy both Buster Knuckle and Advanced Shield!"   
  
The knight rushed forward to meet Varon's assault, and casually slashed Varon across the arm. The blow whipped Varon around and sent him crashing to the ground. The blow also destroyed the shield on his arm and his right arm armor. (VLP: 2150) "Good move. I'll set a card face down and end my turn."  
  
Kensai grabbed the top card of his deck, more casually now then had been the turn before. He could attack now, but that would risk whatever card Varon had placed face down. With the amount of life points he was left with a foolhardy attack like that could spell his end. "I'll set a card face down and end my own turn."  
  
Varon grinned as he drew his card, special summoning Busterpile back onto the field. It was quickly attached to his arm, granting him its effect. Varon had also taken a monster from his deck this time, ready to use it if necessary. "I'll summon Jet Gun Turret(0+500/500) to the field."   
  
The new armor was an arm attachment that equipped over his Busterpile right arm. It was a group of barrels with rockets sticking out of them. Despite that, Kensai was fairly certain that the new armor monster was just insurance, in case Kensai was able to stop Varon's attack. "Here I go!"  
  
Kensai stopped the attack fairly quickly, revealing his newest face down card. It flipped up, depicting Queen's Knight kneeling in a diamond shaped background. "Reveal Queen of Diamonds! This ends your battle phase immediately and lets me special summon Queen's Knight from the graveyard to the field!"   
  
Varon grimaced and ended his turn as soon as the blonde haired female warrior appeared next to her king. It was with these two monsters and their partner that Kensai had been able to turn the tide before, and perhaps he had some sort of combo in mind for them. "Go ahead and show me your plan. I want to take every single move you have! Give me your absolute best and don't stop till the duel has been won by one of us!"  
  
Kensai shook his head in sadness, pitying seeing the end of such a strong duelist, but he had now seen the way to victory, a path to end this duel once and for all. "I'll be sad to see you go Varon. Its been a tough duel and fun, but I can't let it continue any longer. I've drawn on every bit of my strength, and that strength will make me victorious."  
  
He calmly slapped his new card onto the field, revealing the magic card Remove Trap. A grinning Varon revealed his Sakuretsu Armor card, which was destroyed by the effect of Kensai's magic card. Now the path was cleared and Kensai had a way to victory.   
  
"I've realized now what the effect of my Deck Master is. You said before this that a Deck Master can be a key to winning a duel, but I didn't know my Deck Master's effect...till now. Blessed Knight of Emoria, as a monster, has the ability to decrease its attack strength by one thousand permanently to grant it the ability to attack directly. And now it grants my warriors the same power for the duration of one chosen turn, and that turn is now!"   
  
Varon smirked, doing the math and realizing that even together Kensai's two monsters wouldn't be able to do enough damage to finish him off. They would fall slightly over one thousand points short of defeating him. "Now its your math that's wrong Kensai, your monsters aren't strong enough to defeat me."  
  
"No, but armies always give each other strength. As that is the case I now play The A. Force, which boosts the attack power of each of my warriors by two hundred for each face-up warrior or spellcaster on my side of the field. Including my Deck Master that will boost my two monsters by six hundred a piece. And now I reduce their attack powers!"  
  
Varon grinned once more, seeing defeat coming for him. The end truly had come, and he was glad to see it under the hands of a strong and determined duelist. He hadn't reached his limits in this duel, and he didn't think Kensai had either. But maybe someday Kensai would get that duel, even if Varon wouldn't. "Go ahead, end it. Don't back down now."  
  
Kensai nodded and raised his arm, pointing to his opponent. His two monster's raised their weapons and stepped up, ready to attack. "Queen's Knight(1100/1600) start us off!" The female warrior charged forwards and slashed Varon across the chest, slamming him back against the edge of the seal. (VLP: 1050)   
  
"King's Knight...end it once and for all!" The bearded king rushed towards Varon and stabbed the duelist in the chest, pinning him against the barrier for several seconds, watching as the barrier burned his back and drained his strength. Then he pulled the blade back, letting Varon fall heavily to the ground. (VLP: 0)  
  
Kensai turned away, not wanting to watch as the seal pulled in and surrounded Varon. Then in one quick motion the seal collapsed in on him, and his soul was taken. There was nothing left of the tough goggle-head but an empty shell.   
  
After it was over Kensai walked up the shell, and bent down. Slowly he picked up a single card that sat on the ground amidst the pile of Varon's other cards. It was a very special card, and a very deadly one. He held it up in front of his eyes and then clenched his other fist as tight as he could, until his knuckles turned white.   
  
"Seal of Orichalcos...I won't forget the pain you've caused. This is a lesson for me that I will never forget, and I grow stronger for it! I'll remember what such a power as yours can do, the power to grant strength and the power to take life. That is the gift and the curse of any great power. Varon, I promise I will not forget the lesson you have given me, you and your Seal of Orichalcos."   
  
He turned and pocketed the card, staring off into the distance. Nobody deserved such a punishment, such a thing as had happened to Kirani and now had happened to Varon. Nobody...except one person. And so he would keep the card and remember its power and its gift and curse.   
  
"TAICHI! I'M COMING FOR YOU TAICHI!"  
  
______________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Note: And there ya go. The appearance of the Seal of Orichalcos. However...eh screw it, I won't say it. And Paul, there was your armor duel from me, hope it was good enough to help you along. Also, for those who don't know, I don't own Kai Kaethen, he is owned by Time Mage, whose stories you should go and read. Huzzah!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Kensai: Jack of All Trades, King of Hearts, Queen of Diamonds, Blessed Knight of Emoria  
  
Varon: Armor of Inferno, Breaker Armor 


	23. Raging Duel Under the Sun

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.   
  
Author's Note: None! HA!  
  
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of nonviolence to cover impotence." -Mahatma Gandhi  
  
Chapter Twenty Two: Raging Duel Under the Sun  
  
Yami groaned as he sat up, rubbing his spiky-haired head in pain. He had no idea how long he had been unconscious, but it certainly had been painful. He blinked to clear his eyes and then looked around. He was unable to spot anyone he recognized, and in fact surrounding him was desert for as far as the eye could see.  
  
"This doesn't look like a good situation Yugi." Silence followed. Frowning the ancient spirit repeated what he had said, but still got no response. He turned inwards, entering his soul room. He searched it, seeking any sign of the young duelist whose body he inhabited. However there was nothing.  
  
"YUGI!"  
  
****************************  
  
Elsewhere, in a shallow lake, there was another ancient spirit who was walking up. The spirit stood up, knee deep in water, and looked around. Slowly a feral grin spread across his features as he became aware of exactly what the situation was. There was no pathetic hikari to hold him back now, it was just him.   
  
"Get ready Pharaoh, because I'm coming for you." His laughter echoed through the valley that contained the lake, and a chilling wind whipped his white hair about his head. Soon he would take what was rightfully his, and he would have his revenge!  
  
**********************************  
  
Much farther away, at the foot of steps leading into a vast temple, another awoke. This one shook his head and then rose to his feet. He looked up the steps of the temple and stopped when a voice boomed down from the top, reaching his ears.   
  
"Welcome to my temple. In fact, welcome to my world. You proved yourself to be quite capable and my kind of scum back in your own world. So in this case...I would like a partnership." The dark spirit gazed up at his benefactor and grinned wickedly. It seemed like a partnership was the right thing to do, especially considering the situation.   
  
"Will I get to kill the Pharaoh?" His benefactor responded with an equally wicked grin, and with a pass of a single hand a shimmering screen of light appeared in front of the dark spirit. It quickly split into dozens of screens, each one displaying a different duelist. The spirit's eyes quickly fixed on two screens, each with a duelist he despised.   
  
"Absolutely."  
  
**********************************  
  
The duelist that currently blocked Dalin's path was a large man, but size didn't matter to Dalin. He was also quite big himself. Physically or magically Dalin would have easily been able to cast this man out of his way and continue on...but he might as well play by the rules and win the ten straight duels he needed. He had already defeated two duelists, his last opponent being equally as pathetic as Lechuge. However he had assembled a new deck and learned a set of rules called Deck Master rules. It was with that he would win.   
  
"Alright, here we go. Since you didn't do anything last turn you've left the way open for me to crush you in one quick blow! I summon Enraged Battle Ox(1700/1000) to the field and then play Wild Stampede, which lets me summon my Big Koala(2700/2000) to the field!" He grinned as the two monsters appeared, first an overly muscular minotaur wielding an axe, and then a giant koala about twenty feet tall.   
  
Dalin shook his head and let things happen. This duelist was probably fairly skilled, but against the power that Dalin was wielding...he was nothing. "Your summons have activated the effect of my Deck Master. Osiris, attack with your Summon Lightning Impact!"   
  
The giant red dragon opened its second mouth and unleashed two balls of purple energy. They collided with the two monsters, destroying the minotaur and severely weakening the giant koala. "Any monster summoned to your field has its points reduced by two thousand, and if its weaker then that your monster is destroyed."  
  
The other duelist grimaced and then quickly placed two cards onto the field, hoping to protect his monsters. Dalin drew his next card, bringing his hand up to a total of seven cards, thereby granting Osiris a total of seven thousand attack points. However he had no plans of letting this duel continue more then this turn.   
  
"I play Payment of Debt, increasing my hand size to nine cards. And now I'll pay two thousand life points to special summon my Deck Master to the field!" His opponent's eyes widened in fear as the massive monster moved its head forwards, bringing it into play. He could clearly tell exactly how powerful it was, and he was fairly certain that this was the end. (DLP: 6000)  
  
"Saint Dragon Osiris(9000/9000), destroy him." The god monster opened its first mouth wide and launched a stream of deadly energy at the weakened koala. A blue glow sprung upon around the monster, its attempt to protect itself. However there was no power in existence that could stand up to the massive power of his god monster.   
  
"Go Windstorm of Etaqua and Dark Barrier-Mirror Force! This combination will switch your Osiris into defense mode and then remove him from play, winning me the duel!" The duelist's laughter was cut short as Osiris's attack continued unabated and smashed through Big Koala, destroying it and its master's life points completely. (LP: 0)  
  
His opponent opened his mouth to protest, but a black windstorm swirled around him, ripping his soul from his body and casting it high above into the night's sky. Such was the price for losing that sort of duel, and his opponent had payed it. "Prepare yourself Hand of Exodia, for nothing can stop me now."  
  
*************************************  
  
Within a deep and dark forest another duel was going on, this one also being quite short. The reason for this was not that one of the duelists was unskilled. In fact Sir Reginald Bailey was the top ranked duelist in all of England. He was one of the top one hundred best duelists in the entire world.   
  
No, his skill had nothing to do with how short the duel was ending up. It instead had to do with the skill and ferocity of his opponent. Normally Reginald's Shift Deck would have crushed any opponent he went up again, because of how rare and unusual its strategy was. But his opponent was no ordinary duelist. His opponent was the one, the only, the unstoppable, the virtually unbeatable....  
  
Seto Kaiba. "Now I move my Deck Master, Lord of Dragons, onto the field. Finally I'll activate the Flute of Summoning Dragons to special summon Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500) and Emerald Dragon(2400/2000). And with your field cleared by my Heavy Storm and Raigeki there's nothing to stop me. I command my three Blue Eyes, Emerald Dragon, and Lord of Dragons to attack directly!"  
  
Sir Reginald Bailey hardly got a chance to scream as the five energy attacks converged on him, blasting his life points into the next dimension. He had intended to win his eighth duel in a row against any opponent he found, but he had been surprised by the appearance of the first Blue Eyes. Terrified in fact that he was facing Seto Kaiba. (RLP: 0)   
  
Reginald didn't have a chance to comment because a dark wind rushed into his body and pulled his soul free. Then the wind picked up and flew off into the sky and into the distance. Kaiba followed that dark wind for as far as the eye could see, knowing now what direction he had to take.   
  
"I'm coming Mokuba. Don't worry, I'm going to make sure everything is set right."  
  
******************************  
  
At another point just outside the dark woods another duel was ending, this one with the fate of its loser in the hands of a nasty combination of Jinzo and the Red-Eyes Black Dragon. Considering the two monsters being used there was only one duelist who it could be.   
  
Joey Wheeler grimaced as his opponent's soul was taken from his body by a flight of black wind. He pounded one fist into his palm, silently cursing whatever force was behind this for making such a thing happen. The other duelist had been one of the goons that had followed Bandit Keith around at Duelist Kingdom, and hadn't been any challenge.   
  
He gazed off into the distance, watching the dark wind as it moved through the air towards an unknown destination. Little did he know that at that moment he was staring in the exact same direction as a person he despised and who despised him back.   
  
"Serenity, wherever you are, I promise that I'll find you and set everything right."  
  
***********************************  
  
"Look, I said no! I'm not going to tell you!" The one yelling was Daisuke Ihachi, known to all as Drake. The person he was yelling at was his new traveling partner, Kai Kaethen. At the moment they were traveling through the desert, both having removed their outer layers of clothing due to the intense heat of the desert sun.   
  
The oddest part about the desert was how it suddenly appeared. The had walked down the path to the bottom of the ravine. Then they had followed the river for a mile or so and found themselves in a dense forest. Once they exited the forest they had entered the desert. The lightning quick changes of the land were unnatural, and Drake knew why...sort of.   
  
"Oh come on! We've been walking like this for about three hours and so far you've refused to tell me what it is you're trying to accomplish...I think four times now. Just tell me." Drake was currently beginning to become annoyed with his traveling partner, and the feeling was becoming mutual for the other teenager.  
  
It wasn't that either of them had been truly doing much to annoy the other, or that their personalities clashed. In fact they hadn't said a whole lot to each other besides explaining parts of their current situations. In fact the only annoying thing so far, to Drake anyways, had been Kai's questions on what had happened at the Battle City finals.   
  
No, in truth the real reason that they were bothered by each other was much simpler then anything like that. The truth was that stress and the intense heat were getting to them both. Anybody would start to go a little bit crazy if under the beating sun for as long as they had been. Soon the heat would become too much...  
  
"Look, the reason I want to know is because all those nukes went off right near when the Battle City Finals were supposed to be ending. Then after that duelists across the world started disappearing quickly one after another, and then in whole groups. I was walking the ruined streets of Domino one second, and the next thing I knew I was waking up in this weird place! So I think I deserve an explanation of what's going on, and I think you know more then you let one!"  
  
During his rant Kai had reached out and grabbed Drake by the shoulder, holding him and keeping him from waking away. After the rant the punk duelist jerked his shoulder out of Kai's grip, and just grunted back, continuing to walk away.   
  
"Hey, don't walk away from me when I'm talking to you!" Kai rushed forwards and grabbed Drake by his shoulders again. However to his surprise the other duelist spun around at contact and then what Kai saw next was flashing blue lights in front of his eyes.   
  
He hit the ground hard, and quickly rolled to a defensive position, shaking his head to clear away the spots dancing in front of him. He looked up at Drake, who was standing a few feet away, fists up and at the ready, feet shifted into a stance that looked like that used by the average street fighter. Kai started to grin, knowing that against someone with no real training the martial arts training he had received would be enough to win this fight.   
  
He pushed off his feet, moving in quickly towards Drake. He made a quick feint to the right, and then darted in on the left side, starting with a quick roundhouse. To his surprise the feint didn't even phase Drake, and the punk whipped his jacket around. Kai let out a startled cry as the leather jacket wrapped around his leg, giving Drake the leverage needed to spin Kai around and throw him several feet.   
  
Kai grunted and quickly did a kip up, getting to his feet without his hands. His hips and chest were aching from the fall, but he wasn't about to give up. He had underestimated his opponent this time, but he would be ready for something like that next time.   
  
Despite the quickness of his kip up he was forced to act instantly as Drake came in on the attack with powerful right hook. Kai barely managed to keep the blow from landing with a sweeping block by his left hand. Going on the offensive Kai made a short but swift blow with his right fist, connecting with the side of Drake's head.   
  
The strike barely phased the street fighter, but it hadn't been intended to cause serious damage, it was just there to distract for the time necessary. Once his left was back into play he went with a jab, connecting a full-on blow to Drake's face.   
  
The punk duelists stumbled backwards, blood trickling down his nose and from a busted lip. Kai was startled to find that before he could even continue his offensive Drake had managed to recover from the hit. Seizing the moment, Kai sized up his opponent. What he discovered wasn't good for him. While the two of them were of a similar height, being both about six feet tall, Drake possibly about an inch taller, their build was not quite the same.  
  
Kai was tough and strong, but he was more or less what most people would call wiry. He had muscle, but he wasn't extremely built. Drake on the other hand, as it appeared without his jacket and his shirt plastered to him by sweat, was built bigger. He wasn't fat at all, he was built of solid muscle, not ridiculously so, but enough that he would have a strength advantage over Kai, and he would probably be able to take blows better and recover quicker.   
  
Kai moved in on the attack, pressing in and hoping that he had speed as an advantage. To his surprise Drake managed to catch his fist. Kai however, was able to grab hold of Drake's wrist as he threw a punch, only barely keeping the blow from landing. Slowly the other duelist started moving their hands, using his greater strength to his advantage...but he wasn't moving towards Kai.  
  
He had only a brief moment to try and figure out what he was up to before Drake made his move. With a final pull he brought his right hand up to his left, and quickly pressed the activation button on his DD2. As close as they were the disk's activation was highly dangerous. It sprung forwards and cut across Kai's face, slashing his cheek and pounded his jaw with deadly force.   
  
The blow knocked Kai off balance, and their hands split. Drake followed up with his mean right hook, connecting with Kai's jaw. Kai discovered just how powerful it was when he was knocked flat on his back, feeling like his jaw had been knocked out of alignment.   
  
Kai suffered further shock when Drake pounced, pinning Kai with his greater weight. He swung with his left arm, hoping to smash Kai across the face with his duel disk for serious damage. Kai responded by activating his own, catching the duel disk as his attempted to close together. The momentary distraction let him get his feet under Drake, and shove the duelist off of him.   
  
The two duelists got to their feet, breathing deeply and suffering under the intense heat that beat down upon them from above. Kai was surprised to see a grin on Drake's face, and realized that the other duelist must really enjoy fighting. "Wait a second...this heat is making us crazy but...we do need to finish this and get our frustrations out."  
  
Drake grinned and cracked his knuckles, straightening up and shifting into his offensive stance, ready to make a move. With slow movements he dug the end of his boot into the ground to pick up a bit of sand. The instant he started off he'd fling the sand in Kai's face to give him the advantage. "Just what I was hoping for. I'm perfectly willing to kick your ass to get my frustrations out."  
  
Kai shook his head, dropping his defensive stance and standing up straight and tall, completely undefended. Then he brought up his left arm, and displayed his duel disk, which was activated but had no deck in it. "Actually, I meant a duel. We can't afford to be wasting energy fighting and sweating like crazy in this desert. That'll just dehydrate us quicker. This duel...if I win then you tell me what you're after and what happened at the finals. If you win then I quit asking about it. Deal?"  
  
The other duelist hesitated for a moment, and then started selecting their decks from the cards that appeared in front of them. Once they were done selecting, the cards appeared in the deck slot and were automatically shuffled. Ready for the duel they took up positions opposite each other, about fifteen feet apart. "We start with eight thousand life points. No Deck Masters. And as I've got the advantage in this duel, being a Battle City Finalist, I'll let you take the first turn." (KLP: 8000, DLP: 8000)  
  
Kai grimaced at the comment, but gladly drew his opening hand, this one of six cards. He casually looked them over, deciding exactly what to do. He grinned and selected the cards he was going to play. If he kept getting cards like these...then this duel would be over in no time at all.   
  
"I'll start this duel off with one card face down and a monster in defense mode. Then I'll end my turn. Let's see what a Battle City Finalist can do." He smiled slightly, knowing that if his plan worked then Drake would be thrown for a loop. Battle City Finalist or not, Kai was going to take him apart using all his best moves.   
  
Drake drew his sixth card and then looked over his hand, deciding on his options. His first move was an obvious one, and the monster he summoned would easily be able to take out his opponent's defense monster. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700)!"   
  
The black robed spellcaster materialized on the field, far more real then even Drake was going to let on. This move would give him a quick advantage that he could use to break past Kai's defenses and make this duel end as soon as possible. The overwhelming strength of his monster could beat any basic monster, and it would. "I'll set two cards face down and~"  
  
He was cut off as Kai threw one arm out, declaring the activation of his face down card. "Go face down card, Dust Tornado!" The car flipped up, and from it issued a black cyclone that whirled across the field and shattered Drake's face down card on the left hand side.   
  
Next, according to the second effect of Dust Tornado, Kai took a card from his hand and placed it on the field, both watching as it materialized in front of him. He grinned and then shifted his hand to rest just above the holographic card that had just appeared. "Now I activate my new card, Mystical Space Tyhpoon!"   
  
The quick-play magic card flipped up, and a bolt of lightning forked out from it, spearing his remaining face down card. It shattered into tiny little pieces, however the loss of his two cards wasn't too horrible to Drake. He had after all, just gained a magic counter. "Thanks for the counter, now I'll give myself a second magic counter with Pot of Greed!"  
  
The second of the magician's crystals lit up as Drake used the power of his magic card to draw two more cards, bringing his hand back up to four cards. He grinned, examining the hand, and then selected on of the cards. Kai watched calmly as he placed the card on the field, letting it appear face down behind Drake's magician.   
  
"Now, Skilled Dark Magician attacks!" The magician spun his short staff around, and then dropped it down so that it was aiming directly at Kai's defensive monster. A stream of black light erupted from the end of the staff, streaking across the field to strike his monster. The monster materialized, revealing a green armored elf. The elf deflected the blast with his sword, splitting it in two, and then returned to his crouching position.   
  
"Nice try Drake, but no monster with nineteen hundred attack or higher can destroy my Retrained Celtic Guardian(1400/1200)! So...are you done?" Drake grimaced, realizing that he had to do something very annoying to get rid of that monster, however he was already planning ahead.   
  
Kai drew his next card, putting his hand at four cards, and then looked down at the new card. He looked from it to his other cards and then grinned, realizing what he could do. His first turn had just been a ploy to draw Drake out and see what he could do, but this turn would be serious. "I'll set one card face down, and then place a monster in defense mode. That's all."  
  
The two cards appeared, and then it was time for Drake to take his turn. He gladly drew his next card and looked down at it, glad to see that the card was perfect for his purposes. It would let him get exactly what he needed this very moment. "I play Magical Bouquet, which lets me select one magic card from my deck and add it to my hand if I've got a spellcaster on the field. So I will."  
  
He gladly took his deck from its slot and searched through it until he found the card he wanted. Then he shuffled his deck and replaced it in the slot, looking back at his hand. "Now that my magician has all three magic counters, I sacrifice him to special summon Dark Magician(2500/2100)!"   
  
A sphere of black energy erupted around the weaker spellcaster, and moments later it was replaced by the more powerful purple robed magician that was a necessity for any magician user to have in his deck. Kai noted that Drake's hand now was one card lower, meaning the magician had been in his hand. "Now I play Baptism of Light and Dark, sacrificing my Dark Magician to special summon Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600)!"   
  
Kai chuckled as a new aura of black flame surrounded the Dark Magician, and as quickly as he had appeared on the field he was replaced by the more fanciful magician, whose power was also greater. However that power wouldn't help as he had his own plan. "This stronger monster still can't beat my Retrained Celtic Guardian...let alone a second. So meet Cloning, which lets me create a copy of one of my monsters, effect and all. So now I've got two Retrained Celtic Guardians!"  
  
Drake shook his head in annoyance as the original elf flickered for several seconds and then split into two identical forms, each a duplicate of the other. Despite this minor set back, Drake knew what to do to take care of the problem. "Because my Black Magician of Chaos came into play I can return a magic card from cemetery to my hand. I now activate that card, Magical Bouquet, to grab another magic card."  
  
He ejected his deck and searched through it, quickly locating the card, glad that he had added it when he spotted it scrolling by. He placed the card in his hand and then reshuffled his deck, at last ready to make his move. "I play Diffusion Wave-Motion at a cost of 1000 points, allowing my Black Magician to attack each of your monsters! To make it worse for you, when my magician destroys a monster, that monster is removed from the game."  
  
Kai's only response was laughter at Drake's announcement of his move. Apparently Drake didn't realize that the effect would still be the same. His magician was too powerful to defeat his Retrained Celtic Guardians, it was just a waste of a thousand life points. He opened his mouth to tell Drake this but was rudely interrupted. "Now I activate my face down card, Shrink! This cuts my magician's attack power in half, making it weak enough to destroy both of your guardians. Triple Black Sphere!"  
  
The blue-skinned spellcaster raised his staff above his hand and started spinning it around, faster and faster with each pass. A purple glow started to surround the staff as it spun about at blinding speeds, moving so fast Kai couldn't follow its movements. Then it swung the staff down, producing three black magic spheres, which shot out and crashed into all of Kai's monsters.   
  
The two guardians shattered into dust, fading out never to be seen again. However Kai's other monster merely appeared and fended off the attack, revealing itself to be too strong. This monster was a magician clothed in royal blue robes. He was muscular and held in one hand a staff made of ivory. "Your attack may have destroyed my elves, but fourteen hundred attack strength is too weak to get past the defense of my Steadfast Magician(500/2200)." (DLP: 6200)  
  
Drake grimaced and passed his turn to Kai, who gladly took it, drawing another card into his hand, giving him a total of three cards. He looked at the two cards, and at his new card, and suddenly an idea dawned on him. It was definitely an interesting idea. "I'll set a single card face down." The card appeared in front of him, placed behind his magician.   
  
"Now I play Reparations. Its effect lets both players discard up to three cards from their hand, and draw a number of cards equal to the cards we discarded. Since I've just got one card, I'll discard it to draw another." Both players selected the single cards in their hands and slipped them into the cemetery slot. Then they grabbed the top of their deck and pulled free a new card, almost simultaneously. Kai looked at his card and then grinned, realizing that things would work better then he had thought.   
  
Drake was surprised to see Kai motion for him to begin his turn, but that was in fact what he was doing. Shrugging it off, the elite duelist drew another card, looking at the two and deciding which to play. Considering the cards, the choice was obvious. "I summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000)!"   
  
The well-dressed blonde spellcaster shimmered into view next to the taller magician. He flourished his sword and then cast a spell upon it, making it glow a light blue color. The sword wielding magic user glanced over his shoulder at the more powerful creature and then shrugged it off, knowing his own place. "Both my monsters attack!"  
  
Black Magician of Chaos, now back to its initial twenty-eight hundred attack power, casually made a sweep with its wand, send a wave of energy crashing down upon the Steadfast Magician. Meanwhile Neo was charging across the field, sword held at the ready, moving in to strike directly.   
  
Steadfast Magician exploded into dust, and Kai picked him up and tucked him into his pocket. However the destruction of Steadfast Magician was just the catalyst to spark the rest of his combo. "Because Steadfast Magician was destroyed I can now special summon a level four magic user from my hand to the field. Meet Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer(1800/800)!"   
  
Kai's new monster appeared, a tall old-style Japanese man in priests robes. What was odd was that one half of his face seemed to be made from dead tissue, and the other half was normal enough. Neo struggled to pull back from its attack, but Kycoo was too fast for it. With a flick of his wrist Kycoo sent a single leaflet of Ofuda at the other magic user.   
  
The mystical paper stuck to Neo's chest, and he let out a cry of anguish as he was incinerated by the magic power of the Ofuda. Drake's life points dropped accordingly, but that wasn't the end to the fun. "The summoning of Kycoo, my second favorite monster, is not the only thing that comes with the destruction of Steadfast Magician. I also activate in chain a trap card called Soul Crosswire!"  
  
The trap card flipped up, revealing two men standing opposite from each other, their souls being pulled from their throats by intertwining pieces of wire. The picture hardly mattered, it was the effect that meant the most. "At a cost of a thousand life points I can now special summon two level four monsters, one from my cemetery and one from my deck, in whatever mode I wish. So I'll summon Skilled White Magician(1700/1900) and Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700)!"  
  
Drake clenched his fists tight in irritation as first the white robed magician was summoned onto the field from the cemetery and then the black robed one appeared, identical in appearance except for the color of their robes and the flip in their stats. Drake was also well aware of Skilled White Magician's effect, as he had one of his own in his real deck. He didn't have it for the effect, but for the simple fact that it was an extra light type for his trump monster and it had excellent stats for a level four.   
  
Kai grinned as he motioned towards Kycoo, who was now starting to glow a dark blue color. "When Kycoo inflicts life point damage to my opponent I can remove two monsters from the other player's cemetery. So say goodbye to Dark Magician and Skilled Dark Magician!" Kycoo stretched out its hands and launched a glowing beam of blue light at Drake, about to prove why it was called the Ghost Destroyer.   
  
The light struck Drake in the chest, causing no damage to him physically, but forcing him to take the two named monsters from his cemetery and put them in his pocket. As he did so the two monsters appeared in ghostly form, and Kycoo hit them with one Ofuda each, banishing each ghost. (DLP: 6100, KLP: 7000)  
  
Kai drew his card knowing fully well that his combo had only been a delay tactic, Drake's Black Magician of Chaos was still too powerful for Kai to take head on. Slowly he dropped his gaze to the card he had drawn, and when he recognized the image he smirked. "Time for some new options. Card of Sanctity!"  
  
Both players started drawing cards, both of them considering their options with each new card. At the same time both magicians gained magic counters from Card of Sanctity. Kai looked over his brand new hand and then back up at the field, a grinning spreading across his face as he understood what he could do. "I play Spell Production, which places two counters on each of my two magicians, one from my playing Spell Production, and the other created by Spell Production. Useful huh?"  
  
Kai grinned victoriously as he picked the two magicians up off his duel disk and then placed two new cards from his deck onto the field according to the monster's effects. "I sacrifice my monsters to summon their superiors, Dark Magician(2500/2100) and Buster Blader(2600/2300)!"   
  
The purple robbed magician appeared on the field, replacing the Skilled Dark Magician, and the purple armored dragon slayer appeared in place of Skilled White Magician. Both monsters were powerful, but Drake remained confident since neither monster was powerful enough to defeat his Black Magician of Chaos. "Go ahead and try and take me on with them, it won't do you any good. Both of them are too weak."  
  
"Apart they are weaker then your monster...but together they are stronger. And I've got the method to bring them together. I call it, Polymerization!" A vortex appeared between the two monsters and they were dragged into it. The vortex slowly faded, revealing a monster that was a combination of both. Mighty armor and a serrated sword that glowed with inner light. It was the Dark Paladin(2900/2400).   
  
"Now I sacrifice Kycoo for Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!" Kycoo vanished and was quickly replaced by the powerful black clad magic user. The Chaos Magician set its staff to leaning against his side as he waited for a command. The Dark Paladin glanced down at him and then turned his gaze up to the true challenge, the Black Magician of Chaos. A magic user of almost equal strength.   
  
"Now I set one card face down. Finally I'll take control of this duel. Attack!" With a flash the Dark Paladin was across the field, swinging its glowing sword horizontally at the other magician. Black Magician of Chaos raised its staff to block the strike, but the blade split straight through the staff and cut into its flesh, tearing it in half. Chaos Magician simply raised its staff and fired a black beam of light at Drake. The beam hit and knocked him off his feet and into the sand.   
  
(DLP: 3600) Drake pulled himself to his feet, a confident look in his face as he stared down the two stronger monsters. It didn't matter that Kai had the advantage at the moment. That would soon change. "Pot of Greed." Kai just shrugged, choosing not to use his monster's effect and waste a card stopping Drake's draw.   
  
Drake looked over the eight cards in his hand and up at the field, and then selected the cards he wanted to use. "I'll set three magic or trap cards and a monster in defense. End turn." The four cards appeared on the field in front of Drake, keeping him from being destroyed by Kai's next attack. At least...most likely.   
  
"I summon Breaker the Magic Warrior(1600+300/1000)!" The red armored sword wielding magician took his place on the field next to the two stronger monsters. However it wasn't the power of this monster that was what made it a restricted card. It was the effect, an unstoppable effect.   
  
"I use its effect to destroy your face down card on the left!" The card exploded, revealing a Waboku. Kai started to curse his luck, but then he realized that Drake hadn't chained in reaction. Maybe he didn't know you could? Well, that was all the better for him because now he could destroy his opponent's monsters.   
  
Kai's happiness at having a nearly open attack was cut off when one of Drake's other cards flipped up, and a red line of energy shot out, knocking his two cards from hand. "I learned that trick from an enemy of mine. Its called Shatter Point, and one of its effects is that I can chain it when you destroy one of my other cards, then you have to discard two cards from your hand!"   
  
Kai grimaced and picked the two cards up from his hand and deposited them in the cemetery. One of them was a pretty good card, Nimble Momonga, which might have been useful at a later point. "Breaker, attack his defense monster!" Breaker sent a beam of energy from his sword and shattered the defense monster, briefly revealing a blonde man holding a staff. This was followed by another monster card appearing face down.   
  
"Since you destroyed my Apprenticeship Magician in battle I special summon another magic user in face down defense mode." Kai growled and responded by commanding his Chaos Magician to attack. The magician raised his staff and fired off a beam of magic, striking an destroying the defense monster. However the defense monster was revealed as an older grumpy looking magician who cast out his staff and sent a beam of energy at Dark Paladin, destroying it.   
  
"By flipping my Old Vindictive Magician you let me destroy one of your monsters, so I chose your mighty Dark Paladin." Drake grinned as he drew his next card, knowing that he had just gained a semi-advantage, and now he was about to turn the entire duel around. Kai wouldn't stand a chance against his next combo, it was one that would finish him off once and for all.  
  
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your face down card!" The bolt of lightning speared out and crashed into Kai's placed card, which flipped up and revealed a nasty looking goblin holding a magic card. The gremlin figure appeared, and showed off another Mystical Space Typhoon, which shot its own bolt of lightning, destroying Drake's face down card.   
  
"That was my Grave Spell, which lets me activate a magic or trap card from my cemetery. After the effect is resolved both cards are removed from the game, so now we're even." Drake shrugged it off and plucked a card from his hand, placing it on the field. Kai yelped as the half angel half demon from the Change of Heart card appeared on zoomed across the field, taking over Chaos Magician.  
  
"Now that I've got Chaos Magician under my control, I play Trap Reflector, using the effect of your Cloning, to create a token of Chaos Magician!" The magician flickered and then a copy of it appeared next to it. Kai suddenly realized that his own method had just been turned against him, though luckily he could get back his magician at the end of the turn, keeping things even.   
  
"I sacrifice your magician for my own Chaos Magician! Now I summon my trump monster, Chaos Sorcerer, by removing one light and one dark monster from the grave!" First Kai's magician shattered, replaced by an identical black robed magic user. Then the purple skinned and black clad sorcerer shimmered into view, creating an army of powerful magic users.   
  
"I attack with each of my monsters!" The three magic users raised their weapons, which were wands and hands, and then sent triple beams of magical energy at Kai. The swirled together so the originator of the attack couldn't be told, and struck Kai's Breaker. The beam plowed straight through Breaker and knocked Kai off his feet, devastating his life points. (KLP: 1500)  
  
Kai took a deep breath and drew his next card, hoping to find something good. He let out his breath and set a monster on his disk, watching as the brown backed card appeared in front of him. The monster was his only defense, and hopefully it would be enough.   
  
Drake drew his next card, glancing down at it briefly. At the moment it wasn't useful, so his only option was to attack. Because the monster was face down his Chaos Sorcerer couldn't banish it, so that wasn't an option. "Chaos Sorcerer, attack!"   
  
The monster flipped up and revealed what looked like a high-tech satellite. Drake gasped as he recognized Cyber Jar, which exploded and took out all the monsters on the field. He grimaced as both of them picked up their five cards and displayed them to the other player.   
  
Drake held Absolute Control, Apprenticeship Magician(which he set face down), Magician of Faith(also face down), Mirror Force, and Double Spell. Kai held Y Dragon Head, Z Metal Tank, Dust Tornado, Dark Hole, and Magic Jammer. Both of his monsters went into attack mode. "I set two cards face down and end my turn."  
  
Kai drew, adding yet another card to his hand. He grinned as he decided exactly what he was going to do. This would easily make things more even. "I'll set two cards face down. Now I summon X Head Cannon, and remove X, Y, and Z from the game to special summon XYZ Dragon Cannon(2800/2600)!" The three monsters merged together, creating a monstrosity that was almost beyond description, it was all three monsters combined together.   
  
"Now I follow its effect, discarding a card from my hand, to destroy your face down Magician of Faith!" The monstrosity trained its weapons on Drake's right most face down monster and let loose a barrage of deadly fire power, incinerating the female magic user instantly. It had no way to fight back against the effect of XYZ. Then Kai ended his turn, knowing that right now he couldn't attack because of Mirror Force.   
  
Drake drew his next card, and Kai immediately flipped up his Dust Tornado, destroying Drake's Mirror Force. However that didn't bother Drake in the slightest, as he had his own plan of action. "Kai, you decided to plan your own defeat? Or did you just forget the card I held in my hand. Watch and learn your own mistake as I play Double Spell, discarding Absolute Control for it, and activating Dark Hole from your cemetery!"   
  
Kai let out a cry of despair as a black hole appeared above the field and sucked every single monster into it, destroying Kai's second strongest monster and one weak monster of Drake's. Now Kai's field was clear, Magic Jammer being of no use without any cards in his hand. "I summon a special monster called White Magic Summoner(1200/500)! It attacks directly!"  
  
Drake's new monster was a medium height brown haired magic user, wearing flowing white robes and wielding a staff that appeared to be made out of pure ivory, just like Steadfast Magician's. The magic user raised his wand and shot a ray of light at Kai, bowling him over and dropping his life points nearly to zero. (KLP: 300)  
  
"Since White Magic Summoner inflicted damage to my opponent I can now select one magic card from my cemetery or my deck and place it in my hand. I select Monster Reborn, and activate it to revive your own Dark Magician!" Kai grimaced as the purple robed magician appeared, but he was perplexed as to why Drake hadn't revived Buster Blader.   
  
Kai drew a deep breath and drew, then he laughed at the sight of the card he had drawn. Joyously he played the card, allowing both players to hopefully get what they needed, but best of all Kai to get what he needed. "I play the rarest magic card in existence, Hand Rebirth! Both players discard their hands and draw a hand of five cards!"   
  
The two duelists only had to draw five new cards as neither had any cards in their hand. Kai watched Drake's face as the other duelist drew, hoping to catch a glimpse of whether or not Drake got something good. Unfortunately Drake kept his face blank. "I set three cards face down and play Monster Reborn on Buster Blader!"   
  
The purple armored dragon slayer appeared on the field, towering over White Magic Summoner. Dark Magician was not impressed however, despite the fact that both had once been allies. "I'll play Price of Destruction, which inflicts three points of damage to your life points during this turn for the each star of any monsters I destroy. Buster Blade, destroy White Magic Summoner!" The blader charged across the field and sliced the white robbed magic user in half, inflicting exactly one hundred more damage then would have been inflicted if Dark Magician was destroyed. (DLP: 1300)  
  
Drake grinned as he drew a new card, and then waved a finger at his opponent. "You should have realized that its not a good idea to give me more options, never is and never will be." Kai rolled his eyes and thrust out one hand, causing one of his face down cards to flip up.   
  
"Activate Matching Destruction! I select one monster on my field and you select one on yours. If your monster has an equal or lesser level as mine, then your monster is destroyed!" Because both Dark Magician and Buster Blader were level sevens the Dark Magician was destroyed in a flash of light.   
  
"I play Dark Magic Revival, which lets me activate a card from my cemetery, placing it in yours after resolution. I choose Monster Reborn, to revive the Dark Magician once again!" Kai quirked an eyebrow, trying to figure out what Drake was up to as the purple robed magician appeared again, and then Kai accepted Drake's Monster Reborn and placed it in his cemetery.   
  
"Curious as to why I revived Dark Magician? Because I needed him to activate this card, Black Magic! This can only be activated when a Dark Magician is on the field and it lets me destroy all of my opponent's magic and trap cards!" Kai's eyes widened in horror as the Dark Magician thrust his palm out and the color of all the cards on the field reversed, causing both of Kai's face down cards to shatter into tiny pieces. However he still had Buster Blader to keep him protected.   
  
"My next card is Card of Return, which lets me discard a card to return one card from my cemetery to my hand. I selected Magical Bouquet, which I use now!" Drake ejected his deck and searched through it, before finally coming across the card he had wanted. He grinned and shuffled his deck, replacing it where it belonged.   
  
"The card I have chosen is a necessity for magic users. It's the best equip card for them. Magician's Tome to boost Dark Magician to 3200 attack power! And now, Dark Magic Attack!" Kai dropped his hand as the magician aimed its staff at his dragon slayer and shot a beam of purple light. The purple energy broke his slayer apart, dropping his life points down to zero. (KLP: 0)  
  
The duel disks activated and the two duelist dropped onto their butts, breathing heavily because of the intense heat. Then they started to laugh. It was amazing to think that this great duel had started because they didn't want to exert themselves too much under the harsh sun. It had all started because of a silly fight.   
  
Drake looked up at his now beaten opponent and grinned at him. "Ya know, your actually not that bad of a duelist."   
  
Kai grinned back and stood up, offering Drake his hand. The punk duelist accepted and Kai pulled him to his feet. They shook hands and Kai gave his own response. "Likewise. So, are we going to continue?"  
  
Drake nodded and turned away, starting to walk. Kai followed on in silence, both duelist understanding that neither needed to speak to convey how they felt. The duel had done all the talking. They were hardly similar people, but they were both fighters, and that made them...something. Not necessarily friends, but allies at the very least. And that was all that was needed.   
  
____________________________________________________________________________________________________________________  
  
Author's Notes: Actually, there was suppossed to be another duel thingy in here, but the Kai v. Drake duel ended up longer then I thought, not turn wise but actual size wise. So, it was just this duel in there.   
  
Original Cards  
  
Drake: Trap Reflector, Magical Bouquet, White Magic Summoner, Card of Return, Shatter Point, Absolute Control  
  
Kai: Matching Destruction, Price of Destruction, Spell Production  
  
Submitted Original Cards(these cards were submitted by TIme Mage for his character)  
  
Kai: Steadfast Magician, Soul Crosswire, Reparations, Grave Spell 


	24. Run the Gauntlet!

Disclaimer: Yeah yeah, no Yugioh here.  
  
Author's Note: Here's the duel that was suppossed to be in the previous chapter. And of course the duel that was originaly in this chapter. You can guess on your own which one was suppossed to go where, but it doesn't matter.   
  
Quote of the Chapter: "War may sometimes be a necessary evil. But no matter how necessary, it is always an evil, never a good. We will not learn how to live together in peace by killing each other's children." -Jimmy Carter  
  
Chapter Twenty-Three: Run the Gauntlet!  
  
When he awoke he found himself in what might be called nowhere, but was better described as nothing. Of course these things probably had roughly the same meaning, but at the moment of his awakening that didn't really matter to him.   
  
"Damn my head hurts." Groaning he sat up and looked around, trying to discover exactly what the nothing or nowhere around him was. It was at that point that he realized that at this moment those words had almost the exact same meaning. He really should have thought of that earlier.   
  
"You feel guilty for Hinata's soul being taken away don't you?" Ryu jumped to his feet, fists at the ready as he searched for the source of the voice. However all that was there was the nothing, the nowhere. Silently he cursed himself for using those words again to describe the same thing.   
  
"Who the hell are you? Where are you? What do you want?" His voice echoed back to him across the....blankness. Yes, that was one he hadn't used yet, blankness. The only immediate response he got from the blankness was a low chuckle that echoed back at him through the blankness.  
  
"Oh I'm here somewhere in the void (Ryu filed that one away for further use). I'm just a simple prospector looking for certain things. As to what I want...well I want to cut a deal with you." The low chuckle filled the void, carrying with it a sense of dread that prickled Ryu's skin. Whoever this person was, it was unlikely they were one of the good guys.   
  
"What kind of deal?" Suddenly lights sprang up, casting aside the shadows of the void, the nothing, the nowhere, the blankness. Blankness was a stupid word. Screw blankness, he'd stick with void.   
  
A figure stepped into view and Ryu gasped at the sight of this person, finally starting to understand exactly what was going on. Things definitely weren't looking up for him at the moment. "The deal is simple. I will get Hinata's soul free for you if you do what I ask of you. You will become my willing soldier, doing my bidding at each and every turn. You kill who I want, maim who I want, and whatever other things come up. How does that sound?"  
  
Had anyone been listening in on this conversation they would have been leaning in to hear Ryu's response. They would have waited several seconds before he spoke again. They would have been deeply disappointed as the void swallowed up his answer, keeping it from their ears. And they would have heard the laughter that followed after.   
  
Seto Kaiba had been stalking through the forest for nearly an hour, following the path of the black wind that had left after he defeated the last duelist. He had won another duel about fifteen minutes after that, and was now continuing on the path that the wind had taken.   
  
The undergrowth snapped under his booted feet, cracking and tearing as he pushed his way past all the plants. He had his destination in mind, and it all revolved around a certain black haired boy. He wouldn't let anything happen to Mokuba, he had to rescue him from this crazy world.  
  
He stopped in surprise as the forest simply stopped, and now he found himself in what was clearly the stadium he had been building, but completed now. He whirled around to see if there was anything like a holoprojector hidden to create this, but soon discovered that the forest behind him was gone. "What's going on here?"  
  
Twin laughter spun him around, and he found to brown cloaked figures striding from the entrance across from him. He recognized the eye symbol on their cloaks as the same symbol that appeared on each of the Millennium items...and one the Rare Hunter's cloaks. "Rare Hunters. Just what I needed."  
  
"Poor Kaiba, so desperate to find his little brother. Of course he could always get that information out of us, if he can beat us in a duel." Kaiba scowled as the two Rare Hunters activated the DD2s on their arms, and drew opening hands of five cards. These punks had already assumed that he was going to duel. But then again...it was his best chance to find Mokuba.   
  
"Which one of you do I duel first?" When the two cloaked duelists started laughing realization struck Kaiba. They had said us, they meant us, and that meant they both wanted to duel him. Two on one. Knowing the Rare Hunters they'd at least be pretty good, and that meant he was in trouble in a two on one duel. He might be able to win, but they'd probably have decks designed to assist each other, giving him a disadvantage.   
  
"Now dat's not exactly fair is it? How's about I duel you clowns too, and if we win you tell us both where our siblings are. Huh?" Kaiba whirled around at the sound of that voice, that damned Osaka accent. He knew before finishing his turn exactly who was stepping up behind him. The last person he wanted to see, Joey Wheeler.   
  
The Rare Hunters laughed at this proposition and silently discussed it with each other. Finally they two broke apart, and nodded in assent. It would be a two on two duel, Seto Kaiba and Joey Wheeler versus the two unknown Rare Hunters. Kaiba understood the situation well enough that he willingly accepted the help.   
  
Each duelist now had an opening hand, and Joey took the opportunity to draw a sixth card, choosing to go first in this duel. He surveyed his hand and quickly chose the cards he wanted to use. "I'll summon Mad Sword Beast(1400/1200) in attack mode. Then I'll set three cards face down. End turn." The armored beast appeared on the field and snorted at the Rare Hunters. Then three cards appeared behind it.   
  
The first of the Rare Hunters selected his cards from his six and grinned beneath his hood. Then he carefully placed them onto the disk. "I'll place a monster in defense mode and two cards face down. End turn!" His cards appeared, and then the turn shifted to Kaiba who greedily drew his sixth card.   
  
Kaiba surveyed his hand and looked over the other cards on the field, snorting at how ridiculous it was to start off so weakly. He started off strong, stayed strong, and that was why he would win. "I play Cost Down, discarding a card from my hand to reduce all monsters in my hand by two levels. Now I play Silent Death, reviving the Battle Ox I sent to the cemetery in permanent defense mode!"   
  
The brown-skinned minotaur appeared on the field, crouching down in defense mode. Because of the effect of Silent Death it was impossible for him to go into attack mode...so Joey realized what Kaiba was intending at the same time the hunters did. "I sacrifice Battle Ox for hte mighty Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500)!"   
  
Battle Ox shattered, and with a flap of giant wings the virtually invincible engine of destruction appeared on the field in all its blue eyed white scaled glory. It let out a deafening roar, and Kaiba smirked at the sight of his mighty beast. "I'll set a single card face down and end my turn."   
  
The second hunter drew his card and looked over his hand. A small smile appeared across his features as he picked out the cards he wanted to use. "I'll set two cards face down and play Polymerization to fuse Time Wizard and Baby Dragon into Thousand Dragon(2400/2000)!" The two creatures appeared on the field and merged into one, becoming the orange scaled massive dragon. An impressive first turn move.   
  
Joey shook his head as he drew and then grinned in triumph as he recognized the card he had just drawn. This was gonna make everything so much easier. In fact it was gonna easily get him the exact card he needed. "I play Card in Hand, which lets me place a monster from my deck in my hand."   
  
He ejected his deck and searched through, before finally coming across the monster that he had added when he created this deck the first time he dueled someone under these strange rules. It was going to be the first time he had used it, and the other card as well. "Go face down cards, White Dragon Ritual and Black Dragon Ritual!" The two cards flipped up, revealing very similar pots usually seen in ritual summoning.  
  
"I offer Mad Sword Beast and Axe Raider from my hand to special summon Paladin of White Dragon(1900/1200) and Knight of Black Dragon(1800/1000)!" The two named monsters were sucked into the pots, and then moments later the pots shattered, revealing two very special monsters. A well dressed knight riding what looked like a baby Blue Eyes and a tall knight in black standing with no dragon.   
  
"I'm gonna use the Paladin's effect and destroy your face down monster, so go Paladin attack and destroy!" The paladin swooped down across the field, ready to strike down the defensive monster. However at the last moment a face down card flipped up, revealing Negate Attack.   
  
"I'll chain not only with Negate Attack, but with Reward of Negation! Every time our opponents are unable to complete a declared attack we may put one Polymerization or fusion material monster into our hand!" Joey grimaced as the first Rare Hunter started searching through his deck before getting the card he wanted.   
  
However Joey's turn wasn't over, so he decided to use his Knight's effect. He was about to get out one of his deadliest monsters in one single stroke. "I sacrifice Knight of Black Dragon for its effect, special summoning Red Eyes Black Dragon(2400/2000) to the field!" The knight shattered, and Joey called forth the powerful spiky skinned black dragon. Its red eyes pierced through the Rare Hunter's cold gaze and made him step back momentarily in fright.   
  
As Joey ended his turn by special summoning his own Blue Eyes, Kaiba could only think about the situation critically. He stood with the White Dragon and Joey with the Black Dragon, both counterparts of the other. One dark, one light. But in truth the situation was reversed between them. The darker one was Kaiba, and the lighter was Joey. Just likely Kaiba was a world class duelist and Joey was...  
  
As the Rare Hunter drew his next card Kaiba was forced to shake that thought off, because it obviously wasn't true. Joey had beaten him fair and square, and that meant he wasn't just some third ranked duelist. He was a world class duelist, and perhaps it was time that Kaiba stopped avoiding that thought. "Nice move Wheeler, but not good enough. I summon Supply(1300/800) and then flip my face down Summoner of Illusions(800/900). Now I sacrifice Supply for its effect, to special summon Black Skull Dragon(3200/2500)!"   
  
Both Joey and Kaiba stared in surprise as the newer monster vanished and was replaced by the towering black dragon, which flexed its skeletal wings and roared at the two of them. With it in play, things just got more difficult. "I'll set one card face down and then I have Black Skull Dragon attack the Blue Eyes!"   
  
Kaiba grimaced as he saw the molten fireballs bearing down upon Joey's Blue Eyes. Hopefully that amateur would be able to stop the attack with his remaining face down card. "Activate Magic Arm Shield!" The card flipped, and a grabber launched out, pulling Summoner of Illusions in the way of the attack. It was incinerated by the attack and the Rare Hunter grimaced as his life points took a dip. (RH1LP: 5600) Finally the skull dragon was destroyed, according to the effect of Summoner of Illusions.  
  
Now, once again it was Kaiba's turn. He drew his card, giving him a total of two cards, and smirked at the sight of his next card. This next move would certainly be an effective one. It would knock his opponent's life points down by quite a bit. "I summon Vorse Raider(1900/1200). Now I play Energy Absorber, sacrificing Vorse Raider to let Blue Eyes attack directly! Burst Stream!"  
  
The Blue Eyes took the energy granted by the sacrifice of the Vorse Raider. It then opened its mouth wide and shot forth its beam of pure white energy directly at his opponent, who watched the blast from underneath his hood. "Activate Fusion Sacrifice! I can negate your attack by sacrificing one fusion monster, namely my Thousand Dragon. Thanks to my partner's Reward of Negation, I get to put a special card into my hand."   
  
Kaiba ended his turn, and the other Rare Hunter gladly took his own, drawing a new card and giving him a total of three cards in his hand. He held up one card, displaying Pot of Greed, and then drew two cards. Unnoticed by Kaiba or Joey, he was not drawing from the top of his deck. Instead he drew from a special compartment which slid out the cards just like they would have been at the top, making it impossible to tell he hadn't drawn them in the normal manner. "Huh...looks like my strategy is starting to be worked out."  
  
Kaiba quirked an eye, and then gasped as his opponent played his next card combo. "I play Fusion Gate, which will let us fuse monsters without Polymerization. Now I play Fusion Jetway! My partner and I draw two cards, and then in each draw phase, as long as Fusion Gate is in play, we both draw two cards."   
  
He drew two more cards from his deck, bringing him to four cards and his partner to four as well. They both looked over their cards greedily, neither having taken them from the top of their deck. The second of the Rare Hunters, whose turn it currently was, grinned as the ultimate strategy came together. "I throw Versago the Destroyer and Dark Magician into the Fusion Gate in order to create the ultimate fusion monster...Black Flare Knight(2200/800)!"   
  
Kaiba and Joey grimaced as they saw the monster appear on the field in all its glory. Both knew what it was capable of from Joey and Yugi's duel in the finals of Battle City. When that thing attacked, things would get ugly. "Now I play Fusion Rampage! This permanent magic card boosts all fusion monsters by 500 attack points, and grants them an extra 200 points when in battle with a non-fusion monster. So now, Black Flare Knight(2900/800), attack Kaiba's Blue Eyes!"  
  
The knight's attack was barely underway before the Blue Eyes counter attacked with its Burst Stream, vaporizing the poor knight. But it would shortly be avenged by the gold-armored knight that was summoned in its place, with a boosted attack power of 3300, stronger then the Blue Eyes even without its effect. "Mirage Knight...Annihilate the Blue Eyes!"   
  
The golden knight zipped across the field, scythe at the ready, as its power soared to a massive sixty-five hundred, far higher then the Blue Eyes. Worse yet, none of Kaiba's cards could stop the attack, and even if Joey wanted to defend, it wouldn't accomplish anything. With a quick slice of the scythe, Kaiba's Blue Eyes was no more, and his life points took a major dip. (KLP: 4500)   
  
Kaiba sneered as his Blue Eyes vanished, knowing the truth of the situation. In moments they would have regained the advantage, because Mirage Knight had a serious flaw in its design. After attacking, at the end of that turn it would be removed from the game. "You fool! As soon as you end your turn your monster will be no more!"   
  
The Rare Hunter laughed at this statement, and casually displayed the card that remained in his hand. It showed a man partially vanished, standing on a high-tech platform. Kaiba took back his words as he recognized the card. "You're not thinking strategically Kaiba. The removal effect of my monster can only take place if its on the field at that time. To keep that from happening I just get it off the field for the moment. To do that, I play Emergency Transporter, which will remove my monster from the game until the start of my opponent's next turn!"  
  
The Mirage Knight flickered and vanished as it was teleported away. It would soon return to pose a continued threat at the beginning of Joey's turn. These Rare Hunters had discovered a way to keep the ultimate fusion monster...and that would mean certain disaster for Joey and Kaiba.   
  
Joey drew his next card and looked down at it, hoping for something good. He grinned as he saw the card that he had drawn, a very useful card indeed. "I play Treasure of Destiny! Go dice roll!" All player's eyes watched the die bounce across the field, and Joey pumped his fist into the air in triumph as the die came to rest on a six, meaning he could draw six cards.   
  
He drew his six cards and then looked them over, grinning as he did so. It was time for him to show these Rare Hunters exactly what he was made of. In fact, it was time to show Kaiba again what he was made of. "I'll start off by playing Foolish Burial, to place a monster from my deck into my cemetery. But since you've shown me dat our cards can work for our allies as well, I'll use its effect to send a monster from Kaiba's deck to da cemetery!"   
  
Kaiba turned to his partner in outrage, and started to complain until Joey reached him, and whispered the card he wanted in the cemetery. Kaiba's outrage turned into a smirk as he realized what his partner was up to. A pretty clever move from Wheeler. "Now dat I got dat outta da way, I'll play Premature Burial, paying 800 life points to resurrect the Blue Eyes White Dragon from da cemetery!" (JLP: 7200)  
  
The Blue Eyes rose onto the field, joining its brother and the Red Eyes Black Dragon. The white dragons didn't seem to get along with the black dragon, courtesy of their opposite natures. But that didn't matter, because Joey had a plan all set up. "Check dis one out. Giant Trunade!" A giant wind picked up, and all magic and trap cards were picked up off the field and tossed back into their opponent's hands, giving them back every card they had previously placed.   
  
The Rare Hunters grimaced as Mirage Knight's power dropped to a mere 2800, not enough to stop the attack of a Blue Eyes. And since its effect only worked when it was the one doing the attacking...then they were in trouble. "Now I'll play Premature Burial again, reviving the Blue Eyes I sent to the cemetery using Foolish Burial!" (JLP: 6400)  
  
The Rare Hunters cowered in fear as their almost totally clear fields were overwhelmed by the great power of the four mighty dragons, each one easily able to inflict massive amounts of damage to them. When they attacked...things would be bad. "Now I play Monster Reborn on the Black Skull Dragon that was destroyed!"   
  
"I command all my monsters to attack!" Three streams of white energy speared out, two striking directly and one destroying Mirage Knight. A stream of red energy crashed into the second Rare Hunter and a ball of molten fire crashed into him as well, dropping his life points severely. The first was totally defeated. (RH1: 0, RH2: 2200)   
  
The second Rare Hunter gulped in horror as his partner collapsed, unable to maintain his strength and remain standing. Since his partner was out of the running...that meant the turn would skip right to Kaiba...meaning he was open for yet another attack.   
  
Kaiba drew his card and then smirked, before displaying it to the Rare Hunter. The Rare Hunter cried out in shock at the sight of that card...the card that was about to be his demise. "I play Polymerization to create Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon(4500/3800). Now my ultimate dragon, Ultimate Burst Stream!" The second Rare Hunter screamed as the enormous stream of energy collided with his body and picked him up off the ground, sending him flying.   
  
The duel disks shut down and the two world class duelists approached their beaten opponents. Kaiba bent down and grabbed the first one by his shirt and pulled him up so they were face to face. "Now tell us, where are our siblings?"  
  
Kensai had never really given women much respect...well not in the area of battle. When it came to the average lifestyle he gave women a lot of respect because they deserved it. However he had grown up believing that women had no place in battle, and that attitude had gotten him into trouble more then once.   
  
But never before had it gotten him into as much trouble as this situation...which was potentially deadly. All he had been doing was wandering around, searching for Taichi, minding his own business, when he came across a small village. So he had gone into the village to inspect it and ask questions.  
  
He had quickly noticed what made this village different then any other, and had sadly made a few stupid comments without thinking. Those comments allowed him to come to a very special understanding. Being chauvinistic amongst a society of warrior women is really really REALLY STUPID!   
  
"Look I apologized! Isn't there any way we can avoid having me killed?" However his pleas seemed to fall on the deaf ears of a couple dozen angry amazonians. Never in his life had he expected to run into the legendary race of warrior women, nor had he expected to get attacked by a dozen and then tied up like a hog to be roasted on a spit.   
  
"Outsiders are not allowed, and worst of all you are a MALE outsider. You will be punished for your intrusion by death!" The speaker was a tall blonde and very attractive woman who he had learned was the leader of this tribe of amazons. She hadn't been one of those who had attacked him, but she was certainly willing to strike him whenever he said something out of turn.   
  
"That's not true. I know a certain tradition of the amazons that could let him live." Everyone in the village turned to see another blonde woman exiting a tent, following her were people who obviously weren't amazons. But the blonde woman was Mai! In fact, the others were Mokuba, a weakened Autumn, and Hinata!   
  
The leader snorted as she looked from Mai and back to Kensai. Obviously she wasn't too happy about this idea being brought up. Perhaps she hoped that it wouldn't come up and they could roast him without interruption. "Besides, your tribe needs the ten victories as much as anybody else, so why not have him represent these three who aren't up for it. If you beat him you can get four victories in one."   
  
The amazon leader quirked an eyebrow and then nodded her head. With a sharp hand motion she sent a command to the amazons holding him up. With a quick slash of a knife he was freed and dropped unceremoniously to the ground. He grunted and then pulled himself back up to his feet. "What are you talking about Mai?"  
  
"Its simple. You just have to face off against one of the amazons in a duel. If you win all four of you get freedom, if you lose then all four of you get cooked. Fair enough right?" Kensai grumbled at this, but seeing no other options he started up his duel disk. The amazonian leader chuckled and motioned one of her warriors forwards, who activated her own duel disk.   
  
"This duel will be a bit more complicated then that. We believe in fair play, so to represent the others you will duel four amazons total. You will duel them in succession, with no life points regrouping on your part. The first of you opponents will begin at 2000 life points, the second at 4000, then at 6000, and if you get far enough you will face me at 8000. You will start with 8000 life points."   
  
Kensai gulped, but merely nodded in acceptance, as he had no other real options. It was either duel and win, or don't duel and die. Not much in the choices department at all actually. Both of the two starting duelists drew their opening hands and his opponent, a very muscular blonde amazon, drew six to start off. "I summon Big Shield Guardna(100/2600) in defense mode. End turn!"  
  
Kensai drew his sixth card and looked down at his hand, grinning as he saw exactly what he had. This duel wouldn't be so hard after all, in fact he could finish it in no time if each of the amazons was as basic as this one. "I play Graceful Charity, drawing three and discarding two. Now I remove both monsters I discarded from the game to special summon Chaos Solider-Messenger of Creation(3000/25000)!"   
  
His trump monster appeared in all its black and gold armored glory, wielding its curved blade with a skilled nature. With one strike he would end this duel. Easy as pie. "I set one card and choose to use my soldier's destruction ability. When he destroys a monster he can continue to attack! Chaos Blade Attack!" With a sweep of his blade the Chaos Soldier annihilated the shield wielding warrior, and then with a second sweep it knocked the amazon off her feet and down to the ground, her life points gone.   
  
Immediately the second amazon stepped up, this one with dirty blonde hair and standing roughly six and a half feet in height. She wasn't as muscular as the previous one, but she looked equally deadly. If she dueled like the last one, he'd have no problems at all though. "I summon Amazoness Swords Woman(2000/1600), who gets a boost from our collective Deck Master, Amazoness Paladin! Our deck master boosts all female monsters by five hundred attack points!"   
  
The new monster was a muscular amazon wielding a wicked looking curved blade. At the announcement of their deck master's effect, Kensai glanced back at his deck master, Matchless General Freed, whose deck master effect he didn't know. "I'll next equip her with two cards, one is Protective Amulet which cuts its attack power in half to protect it from all cards that would destroy it. Next is called Jewel of Amara, which lets any monster with 1000 points or under attack directly...and lets them attack twice in the battle phase! Double Sword Slash!"  
  
The swords woman charged across the field and slashed the blade twice across Kensai's chest, knocking him backwards and making his life points take a significant dip. Apparently the first one had been testing him, but hadn't expected him to pull off as good a move as he had. (KLP: 6000)  
  
He drew his next card, putting him up to five cards in his hand. At this point he started laughing, causing all the amazons to stare at him and wonder what he thought was so funny. "As good a combo as that was, its no match for my next move. I summon Blessed Knight of Emoria and then have Chaos Soldier banish your amazon for good!" With a single beam of chaos energy the sword wielding amazon was removed from the game.  
  
"Now, Blessed Knight of Emoria, attack directly!" The white armored knight charged across the field and swung his mace with great force, catching his amazon opponent in the chest, smashing her to the ground and putting a dent into her life points. (A2LP: 2200)  
  
His opponent struggled to her feet and drew a card, giving her four cards total. She grinned and picked up her first card, sliding it into her duel disk and thereby activating it. The card appeared on the field, revealing a magic card that depicted a man being dragged down by something heavy. "I play Will of Gravity! It equips onto a monster on the field, keeping it from using its effects for as long as Will of Gravity is equipped. So say goodbye to your soldier's effects."   
  
Kensai grimaced as the increased gravity nearly caused his soldier's knees to buckle. Well, it looked like he wouldn't be removing any other monsters from the game anytime soon. "Now I summon Reflect Bounder, whose effect will make it too costly for you to attack it at all!" The monster was a machine whose body consisted of several mirrors, its effect would send any attack he made straight at his life points.   
  
He drew his next card and glanced down at it before setting it on the field. It appeared quickly enough in front of him, face down. It was a nice little surprise for if she tried anything. "Guess you didn't know my knight's effect. Attack Reduction!" His amazon opponent looked shocked as his monster's attack power dropped to eight hundred, and it zipped straight past her machine and to her life points, smashing her again with its mace. (A2LP: 1400)  
  
She greedily drew her next card, and then slammed it onto the field, revealing Lady Panther(1900/1300), boosted by her deck master's effect. The female panther in humanoid form roared at his knight and soldier, and brandished her weapon. "Lady Panther, destroy his knight once and for all!" The panther woman charged across the field and sliced his monster in two, dropping his life points by a bare amount. (KLP: 5900)   
  
"Activate Attack and Receive!" His trap card flipped up and its effect went off, cutting her life points in half, making her easy prey for any attack he might make. She grimaced and set one card before ending her turn. (A2LP: 700)  
  
Kensai took a deep breath, knowing that the others were counting on him to get them out of this mess...a mess that his idiocy had created. He drew his card and then held it above his head for a moment before bringing it down in front of his face to examine. Upon seeing it his face broke out in a grin and he played it. "I start off with Remove Trap to destroy your face down card!" Her face down card, a Magic Jammer, broke apart.   
  
"I'll continue by playing Despell on your Will of Gravity! And then I'll play Warrior Mimic, which lets me copy any card in your cemetery as long as I have a warrior on my field. So I equip it as Will of Gravity onto Reflect Bounder." This time it was the machine who was dragged down by gravity, giving Kensai a nearly open path to her life points.   
  
"I set one card, and then summon Swift Knight Gaia(2300/2100) because it's the only card in my hand. Then I attack with my monsters!" First the purple armored knight rode out onto the field, and then his two monsters charged forwards and cut down his opponent's two monsters, dropping her life points to zero and moving him on to the next duelist.   
  
His newest opponent was attractive...but probably two feet taller then he was. Again, this one was blonde, just like the others. She smirked at him and drew an opening hand of six cards, and then started her turn by placing two cards face down, which appeared across from his. "I summon Unfriendly Amazon(2500/1000) and then equip her with Shooting Star Bow-Ceal, which reduces her attack by one thousand...and lets her attack directly!"   
  
The armored woman appeared, holding a bow with an unearthly glow. She notched an arrow into the bow and let fly, striking Kensai in the chest and dropping his life points. "Now I play my own Will of Gravity on Chaos Soldier!" He grimaced as yet again his monster was brought down by gravity. (KLP: 4400)  
  
He drew his card and laughed before setting a card face down. This one had done some serious damage, but she wouldn't be continuing that for much longer. He'd be dropping her to fifteen hundred life points in this turn, easy. "I activate my face down Rush Recklessly to boost my knight to 3000 attack, and then I go for the kill!"   
  
"Activate face down cards, Waboku and Scapegoat!" Four little goat tokens appeared, and then a group of robed men appeared and blocked his strike with easy, keeping him from destroying any of his opponent's monsters. Not only that, but now she'd be able to make the upkeep of her Amazon.   
  
She drew her next card and then slipped it onto the field. Then she followed up by sacrificing a goat token for upkeep and then summoning another monster onto the field. This one was Amazoness Chain Wielder(2000/1300) who was swinging her bladed chain around with deadly skill. "Direct attack!" Again Kensai was struck by an arrow, dropping his life points even further. (KLP: 2900)  
  
He grinned and drew his card, knowing what he'd be doing next. He was about to take victory into his hand quite easily in this turn. "Activate Ice Prison!" Kensai grimaced as Chaos Soldier was wrapped up by ice. He knew this trap, he'd heard of it. He couldn't do anything with his soldier...and the only way to free it was to change its stats.   
  
"I equip Chaos Soldier with Axe of Despair, boosting it to four thousand and freeing it from your prison. Then I activate Meteorain, and attack two goat tokens!" His soldier gained a demon headed axe and broke free, and then his two monsters charged across the field and sliced through one token apiece, dealing damage equal to the difference between their attack and the other monster's defense. (A3LP: 0)  
  
He grinned as his turn ended, and watched as the attractive amazonian leader approached him, activating a duel disk and drawing an opening hand. Her life point counter rose to eight thousand, making it a fifty-one hundred point gap he'd have to make up for. Not only that, but she still kept the Unfriendly Amazon and its power to attack directly. "I sacrifice my two amazons for Cosmo Queen(3400/2400)!"   
  
The new monster was a incredibly thin woman with...well a bulbous head. Either she was wearing some sort of crown, or her brain was huge, Kensai couldn't tell one way or the other. "I'll set one card face down. Now..." She looked over the two monsters and did the math in her head. Destroying his knight would deal more damage, but it wouldn't finish him. If he managed to get back Chaos Soldier's effects then it would be a huge threat. She had to eliminate it first. "I equip Cosmo Queen with United We Stand, now I destroy Chaos Soldier!"  
  
Kensai discovered that it was indeed a huge brain when she fired off a wave of psychic energy that shattered his powerful soldier and dealt him a total of one thousand damage. He was even more behind now, and beating her with that much of a difference might be impossible. Even if she was a total amateur it'd be difficult...she had everything going for her, and he didn't even have any cards in his hand. (KLP: 1900)  
  
He drew his card and grimaced at what he saw. He slowly set the monster in defense mode and switched Gaia to defense as well. That was all he could do for the moment, and hopefully she wouldn't manage to get two more usable monsters out in the next turn, or he'd be finished.   
  
She drew her card and grinned, flipping up her face down card, Avatar of Apophis which created a snake warrior token for her to use as she saw fit. Yep, he was screwed. But to his surprise she didn't do what he expected. "I sacrifice my token for Amazon Lady(2600/2000), and attack your two monsters!"   
  
The new monster was well-dressed, for an amazon. She wore flowing scarlet robes and had a tiara made from what looked like bones. She and the brainy Cosmo Queen charged forwards and cut apart his two monsters, leaving him without any defense. As he drew his card he knew he needed something good, or else he was finished. "Yes! Go Swords of Revealing Light! I knew this card would come in handy!" His opponent cursed as her monsters were locked down by the power of the glowing green swords, giving him three turns to prepare.   
  
She grimaced and drew her next card, then slammed it onto her duel disk, revealing another Amazoness Swords Woman, joining the two other amazons on the field. Then she waved her hand, passing the turn back over to Kensai. He drew his card and then grimaced, setting it down on the field. It might help...but not by much. It was just another Attack and Receive.   
  
The amazonian leader drew another card, and summoned the fierce and muscular Amazoness Fighter(1800/300), who also had the boost. Now her monster zones were full, and her Cosmo Queen had enormous power. She completed her turn by setting one card and using Remove Trap on his Attack and Receive.   
  
He took a deep breath and drew his next card. He stared at it for a moment, and then glanced down at his face down card. It was a card he had in his deck because...well he wasn't sure why. It had been sitting there since turn one of this duel...and if he had his deck master's effect figured right then he had a plan. "End turn!"  
  
His opponent drew her card and then shrugged it off, obviously not having gotten anything worth while. "Well male, it looks like you've run out of options. At the end of this turn the swords will be gonna, freeing me for attacking. So after your next turn, this duel will be over and you and the rest of these outsiders will be dead!"  
  
He felt a flicker of anger at this, knowing that she was completely serious. She was ready to kill them if she won...and he couldn't let that happen. As he started his turn he felt a flicker of power from within the pocket of his jeans, but he brushed it off as his imagination. "I won't let that happen! So now I activate my deck master's special ability, Gathering of the Army! Instead of drawing I can put one warrior into my hand from my deck and then shuffle my deck. So here we go!"  
  
He ejected his deck and started looking through it, and his grin widened as he came across the monster that he wanted. After adding it to his hand he shuffled the deck and put it back in. Now he just needed some luck in what was to come. "Alright, I summon Blade Knight(1600/1600) in attack mode!"   
  
His monster was summoned to the field, revealing a knight in white armor revealing an impressive looking sword. However its power was nothing against that of any of her monsters, making it a seemingly weak creature. The amazon leader seemed to agree, as she threw her head back and started laughing uproariously as did the rest of the amazons. Even those who had been rooting for him seemed to despair at seeing it.   
  
"That's the monster you selected? That's the best you can do? That pathetic thing will never accomplish anything, heck its weaker even then my Amazoness Fighter!" As she spoke this words all those watching saw as the monster's attack power rose to two thousand, and they looked to him in question, wondering how this was happening.   
  
"When I've got two or less cards in my hand Blade Knight gets a power boost of four hundred, and when he's my only monster he can negate flip effects. But that bonus...I don't need it...not exactly. I play Card of Sanctity!" The card appeared on the field, revealing a man reveling in the joy of the coins that fell from the sky. Both of them started drawing their six cards, and as they did so everyone wondered why he hadn't used it the previous turn.   
  
"Curious as to why I waited to use that card? This is why! Open face down card, Card of Last Will! Because my monster had its attack power reduced when my hand increased to six cards, I can now draw five more cards, bringing my total up to eleven cards!" Everyone gasped, and Mai nodded appreciatively, impressed by how well thought out the move was. It wasn't what she would have expected from Kensai, not after his performance against her.   
  
He drew the next five cards, making his hand large enough that he had trouble holding all of them. He started looking through the cards, trying to decide which cards to use. Suddenly his eyes fell upon one of his cards and his eyes lit up. "It's time to show you a monster like no other. Just as my soldier brings the message of creation, this monster brings the message of the apocalypse. By removing one light monster and one dark monster in my cemetery I can special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon-Messenger of the Apocalypse(3000/2500)!"   
  
A column of light erupted on the right side of Kensai, followed by a column of black energy on his left side. The twin columns converged in front of him and became a swirl of colors, before finally fading away. The bubble of energy burst, and out stepped a massive dragon of white, green, and orange, with a orange mane of hair. It let out a deafening roar which shook the entire village and then readied itself.   
  
"This monster is like no other because it possesses an extremely powerful effect. At a cost of a measly one thousand life points I can destroy all cards on the field and in both player's hands, including the dragon itself. Not only that but for each card that goes to the cemetery from its effect you lose three hundred life points! And counting all the cards in my hand, on the field, and in your hand...I count twenty cards. So get ready...Apocalyptic Eruption!"   
  
All the amazons backed away, readying themselves for the explosion. Mai pulled Mokuba and Autumn off to the side. His opponent raised her arms in defense as the dragon started glowing and then...it exploded. They were both caught up in the holographic blast, nearly blasted off their feet completely.   
  
As the dust settled both duelists took their hands and deposited them into the cemetery slot, and the second part of the effect went off, dealing massive damage to his opponent's life points. She grimaced as she watched the duel disk counted down her life points, dropping her nearly to the defeat point. (KLP: 800, ALLP: 2000)  
  
She couldn't believe what she was seeing. Despite the disadvantages they had given to him he had managed to drop her to within striking distance of defeat. A MALE! How could a male possibly do this to her, leader of the amazons? It wasn't possible! "Its not over yet male! I'm not beaten and you're open to attack!"  
  
He grinned and motioned to his deck master with his hand. Her eyes widened as it floated out onto the field, readying itself for an attack, sword at the ready. She gulped, realizing exactly what the situation was. Her field was open, he had never had a battle phase this turn...and his deck master had over two thousand attack points. "Freed the Matchless General(2300/1600), Matchless Blade!"   
  
The blonde warrior charged across the field and slashed his opponent's chest, making her stumble backwards. She grunted as her life points dropped to zero, granting him and his new companions victory. He had won out over adversity...even though his own stupidity had caused it in the first place. "Congratulations male...that makes only two males to ever win. The last one slaughtered three of our number and stole the soul of the amazon he faced after winning. That bastard..."  
  
Kensai's eyes widened as he started to recognize the description of events, and he understood exactly who that person was. There couldn't be anyone else that sadistic...nobody. "What was his name?" The amazon leader just shook her head, revealing that the person who they had faced had never given his name. But Kensai knew...it had to be.   
  
"His name is Taichi Nobuki, and he's done such things before. And I swore on my life that I, Takuya Shinomori, will find him and defeat him, bringing this insanity to an end once and for all! And I know exactly how I'm going to do it..." Again he felt a flicker of power from his pocket, and this time he accepted it, letting a trickle of that power flow into him, causing his anger to rise.   
  
He would find Taichi and he would defeat him using the power of the Seal of Orichalcos...even if it cost him his very soul. He'd make sure that Taichi was beaten and sealed away for all time. "Do you have a horse?"  
  
Several miles away a young man with dark hair and cold eyes walked through a quarry of rocks, whistling a happy tune. He knew exactly where he was going, knew exactly what he was doing. He had everything all laid out in front of him. Soon everything he had ever wanted would be his.  
  
Yes it was indeed a good day to be Taichi Nobuki.  
  
Author's Notes: Ummm...none really. There ya go!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Kensai: Warrior Mimic  
  
Amazons: Will of Gravity, Protective Amulet, Jewel of Amara, (Ice Prison, or whatever its called for real, is from the anime, used by Raphael in the Doom Arc), Amazon Lady 


	25. The Duelist Who Sees Fate: Countdown to ...

Disclaimer: Drill in, drill out. You know I don't own it.  
  
Author's Note: Ummm....ummm.....ummm....forget get it, I can't think of anything.  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "I ask not for a lighter burden, but for broader shoulders."-Jewish Proverb  
  
Chapter Twenty-Four: The Duelist Who Sees Fate: Countdown to the End  
  
It had hardly been any time since the end of Kai and Drake's duel. They had headed off immediately, desperate to find a place where they could relax for a brief moment, to find a place in the shade where the eternal sun didn't beat down on them with destructive force.   
  
Of course, such a thing seemed impossible since the desert continued as far as the eye could see. The only distraction that they had come across were a small group of duelists traveling together. Of course when duelists gathered together there was bound to be a duel or two, and of course they did. Kai and Drake now walked away with four new victories. This brought Kai up to four and Drake to seven.   
  
But now that there were no distractions they were both forced to look towards their immediate future again. And their immediate future was filled with lots of bright light, lots of heat, and no water. Essentially they were screwed. "DAMN IT ALL!"  
  
Kensai's horse, named Windsprite by the amazons, barreled through the woods, its hooves pounding heavily against the underbrush. With surprising skill the two moved as one, dodging in between trees as if they already knew where they were before hand. Behind them came another group of horses containing his companions.  
  
These horses following him weren't going anywhere near as fast, not just because one of their number was injured, but also because they weren't in as much of a rush. They weren't crazy like Kensai was, they didn't want to get themselves killed. So instead they followed at a more leisurely pace, knowing that they would just catch up with him when his horse collapsed from exhaustion.   
  
Whatever had driven Kensai into this frenzy was unclear, as he hadn't displayed such intensity on the topic of Taichi before they were flung here. Something had happened to him, but exactly what had happened wasn't clear. But every time he was frustrated he stuck one hand in his pocket and the frenzied look came back into his eyes, and he took off again.   
  
Up in front of them Kensai had the very same frenzied look in his eyes. A dull roar filled his ears as he pounded towards his goal. He could feel his energy being sapped away from him each and every second. He took one hand off the reins, shoved his hand into his pocket, and felt the surge of energy pour into him, giving him what he needed.   
  
If anyone had gotten in front of him and looked into his eyes, they would have seen a strange six-pointed star (A.N.-HA! Eat that Paul!) deep within his eyes. That was the source of his frenzy, the source of his power. The dark power provided to him by the Seal of Orichalcos.  
  
In a different part of the strange world another, smaller group was wandering around. This group wasn't exactly happy to be a group. The two people in the group didn't like each other all that much. They essentially despised each other.   
  
One of these two thought he was better then the other one in every way possible. The other despised him for his arrogant mannerisms and how intruded into places that he didn't belong. He also despised the fact that most of his friends had accepted the arrogant bastard as part of their group. Didn't they remember the things he had put them through?  
  
"Look, you don't like me and I don't like you, but for the moment we need to cooperate, otherwise we'll never safely find the others and get out of this place. You got that?" The brown haired man stared intently at his companion after speaking these words, and waiting for his companion to respond.   
  
The other man brushed a hand through his hair and smirked at the brown haired man, obviously not respecting him. They glared at each other for a moment before the response was given. "Whatever. Let us just stop sitting around and get moving, I'm already tired enough of being around you, so we should get this over with."   
  
Deep laughter caught their ears and the two turned around to find a group of four men approaching. The one who was laughing was a tall man with light blue hair down to his neck, dressed in a fancy robe. His companions were dressed in what looked like dated military uniforms, one with brown hair, another with red hair, and the last with a deep purple hair.   
  
The two companions, one with black hair the other with brown, faced these newcomers, fists at the ready just in case. Tristan was the first to speak up, questioning the strangers. "Who are you? And what the heck's so funny?"   
  
The tallest man, the leader, stopped laughing very slowly, a chuckle still evident as he stopped. He looked between Tristan and Duke, suppressed another chuckle, and then brushed past them, his soldiers following close. "Hey! What the hell's wrong with you? You can't just brush past us like that!"  
  
The blue haired man turned his head to face them and grinned widely, displaying perfect white teeth. His eyes were a bright turquoise color that shone in the sun. "I can brush past you because I am of a higher race then you. You are just mankind, I am Atlantian and you are humans. I am a Seer, you are just peons. That is why I brush past you. The humor? Your pathetic squabbling."  
  
He turned away and started walking away again, but Tristan, being the kind of person that he was, wasn't going to talk such disrespect lying down. He rushed forwards to grab the man by the back of his robes, but on of the soldiers lashed out with his foot and caught Tristan in the gut, doubling him over. "Do not dare to touch the Seer chattel!"  
  
Duke moved forwards and helped Tristan to his feet, both of them glaring at the small group. Even Duke realized that they were in over their heads, but Tristan wasn't done yet. He wasn't finished in the least bit. "We aren't property, we aren't peons, we're just as good as you are! Hell, consider that we're not assholes I'd say we're better then you!"  
  
Tristan didn't expect anything of the sort of what happened next. The tall blue haired man smashed his soldiers aside, knocking them to the ground, and stepped forwards. A fierce look covered his perfect features and he sneered down at them. "For such an insult I will crush you completely! I accept the challenge to my honor! I can leave Lord Dartz for later, I will deal with you chattel now. Two on one, a true test of power. We shall use the duel monsters deck master rules. Now select your cards and your deck masters!"  
  
The two of them sent confused glances to each other and started to protest, but the look they were given by the blue haired man and his soldiers convinced him to shut up. Grimacing the two of them watched as duel disks appeared on their arms, and cards started floating in front of them. Sighing they started looking through the cards, selecting their cards. Their opponent did the same.   
  
After a few minutes the three, of them were prepared with their decks, and had started to choose their deck masters. Duke selected Strike Ninja, and Tristan selected Super Roboyaro. Their opponent shifted through his cards for a moment and then smirked. "Very well, let us begin. I select my deck master as Orichalcos Kitoras(500/500)!"   
  
His deck master appeared behind him, revealing a big eyeball with little spikes on its body floating there. Whatever it was, it was certainly a strange looking monster. Each duelist watched as their life point counter rose to eight thousand, and the duel was on. "I the Great Seer of Atlantis, Advisor to the Lord of Atlantis, and General of the Armies of Atlantis shall crush you completely! Beware chattel, for you face the one of the two mightiest of all Atlantians, Seer Hiyazaku!"   
  
The three soldiers bowed as he spoke these words, leaving Tristan and Duke feeling foolish. The guy thought he was from Atlantis? What a freaking loony, Atlantis had never even existed for Pete's sake! "I'm Tristan and this dice freak here is Duke. We'll be glad to kick your freaky blue haired butt!"  
  
Hiyazaku sneered and drew his opening hand, looking over it only briefly before beginning his move. Already he knew that this duel would be an easy one. It would require no effort to defeat these pathetic chattel. "Prepare yourself chattel as I unleash the true power of Atlantis. Final Countdown, activate!"   
  
Yami faced off with his opponent, ready to strike at any necessary moment. His opponent, white haired bastard that he was, sneered at him and was similarly ready to strike. It was hardly unusual to see Yami and Bakura facing off, but it wasn't the situation they wanted at this moment.   
  
Off to the right Yugi and Ryou agonized over their dark selves fighting. They had run into each other only shortly ago, and right off the bat the two yamis had started fighting. Now they were arguing about how they would go about finding their potential enemy. "I tell you that charging blindly forward won't accomplish anything! I know we're being watched so I know we have to attract their attention!"  
  
As Bakura spoke these words Yami got right up in his face, ready to lash out with his magic at a moments notice. He hardly cared that the words the other dark spirit spoke were intelligent and well thought out. "And how do you propose we do that?"  
  
"By doing exactly what they want us to do! Duel you blathering idiot!" Yami smirked and stepped back, activating his duel disk, waiting for Bakura to do the same. He hardly minded such a thing. He was ready to duel if Bakura was, it would make him feel more at ease if he could get a chance to kick the arrogant thief's ass.  
  
"Not just you and me you fool! A duel that will attract their attention, a duel that they'll absolutely want to see played out. We've already dueled before, but what I will propose is far beyond us dueling, it is much cleverer. You and Ryou, versus Yugi and I. They'd never be able to resist!"  
  
Each of the hikaris looked to their yamis, hoping for advice of some sort. Of course Bakura just ignored Ryou, but Yami and Yugi briefly held a conversation off to the side before coming back with their answer. "We'll do it."  
  
"Very well then, assemble your decks and select your deck masters, this two on two duel is about to begin!" The four duelists started to assemble their decks, and after only a few minutes they were ready. The two most intent in this process were Ryou and Yugi, who had something special in mind.   
  
Yami was the first to speak up and select his deck master, meaning he would be the one to go first. He select Buster Blader, which appeared behind him. Next was Bakura who quickly held aloft his card and declared it in a clear voice. "My deck master shall be Diabound Carnel!" Yami's eyes widened as a strange white monster with miniature wings and the bottom half of a snake appeared behind Bakura. There was something almost familiar about that creature.  
  
Ryou selected a trap card as his deck master, a move that confused the other duelists. His deck master was First Coffin, which appeared as a large fancy pharaoh's coffin. Then Yugi stepped up to select his deck master. "I choose Silent Swordsman!" Yugi's deck master was a compact dark armored warrior who looked like he was…well expandable really.   
  
Yami took a deep breath and started off, drawing his opening hand quite quickly. He stared at his cards, eyes clear and determined, realizing quickly that he was in trouble. He had no monsters at all, and hardly any playable cards. Suppressing a grimace he selected the only card he could use. "One card face down, and I end my turn!"   
  
Next Bakura drew his initial hand and a sixth card. He looked over his cards and smirked, realizing what he could do. Quite an easy move actually, hardly a problem. "I begin with two cards face down, and Wandering Zombie(1500/0) in attack mode!" The two cards appeared down in front of him and a tough looking zombie was summoned.   
  
Ryou took his turn, quickly selecting the cards he wanted to use, three in total. "I'll set two cards face down and summon Nightmare of Thebes(1500/1500) in attack mode!" His two cards appeared, following by a burning spirit of blue fire in front of him. Bakura's eyes widened as he realized that his pathetic hikari had actually created a new deck, different from his own. Well that was fine, he had some surprised waiting anyways.  
  
Yugi started his turn by drawing a card and then he looked over his hand for several seconds. He nodded once and select his cards, then he started off. "I'll start by playing a card face down. Then I'll play Green Gadget(1400/1600) in defense mode! By its effect I can place one Red Gadget in my hand. Now I'll end my turn!" Yugi's monster was a green humanoid machine with a giant gear on its back. It didn't seem all that impressive.   
  
Yami drew his next card and grimaced, seeing that he wasn't any better off then he had been in his previous turn. What was worse, now others would be able to attack, and he was essentially defenseless. His face down card couldn't save him more then once. "Pass."  
  
Bakura smirked and drew his next card, satisfied at what he saw. This would serve very nicely to continue setting up this duel in exactly the way he wanted it. Victory was assured already! "I'll play Gelnia(500/2000) in defense mode. Your turn Ryou!"  
  
Ryou took a deep breath and glanced down at his card. It wasn't going to be much help, so he was just going to have to carry on with his prepared combo. If it worked then his side would get an early lead...but who to attack. By the confident look on his yami's face, he had a perfect defense. By the look in Yami's eye's, Yugi had no real defense. There was no chance his darker half would protect Yugi...so despite misgivings Yugi was the best choice.  
  
"I'll activate Super Electric Burst, my face down trap card! During this turn one monster on my field gets a bonus of five hundred attack points for each card I discard. I'll raise Nightmare of Thebes by two thousand points by discarding all four of my cards!" He shoved his hand into his cemetery slot and watched as a stream of electricity surged around his monster, making it grow to double its original size.   
  
"Now I'll activate my other placed card, Sacrifice Maneuver which costs 1000 points to activate. Now Nightmare of Thebes can attack directly. And because I've got no cards in my hand and no magic or trap cards, Nightmare of Thebes gains fifteen hundred points! Nightmare Flame Attack! Direct it at Yugi!" The fire beast opened its mouth and roared out a stream of blue fire, ready to consume the little duelist. (RLP: 7000)  
  
Bakura let out a loud and rough laugh, and then raised one arm above his head, directing his trap card to activate. It flipped up, revealing a man being prodded by pins and needles. "My face down card Voodoo Doll changes the target of your attack from my partner...to yours!"  
  
Yami let out a sharp cry as the attack twisted in mid-air, coming straight for him. His face down card was Mirror Force, but if he activated it now, he'd have no trap to defend him come Yugi's turn, and his partner would lose his only monster. Both of them would be open! The attack struck and hurled him backwards, draining his life points. (YYLP: 3000)  
  
Yugi took this moment to draw his card, giving him a total of six cards. Now he had more options and a plan all set up. This shouldn't be too hard at all. "I'll play Red Gadget in defense mode, letting me put Yellow Gadget into my hand. Then I'll set a card and end my turn." A red smaller machine monster appeared, followed by a down card. Bakura sneered at this lackluster move, but shrugged it off.  
  
Yami focused his mind, putting his faith in the heart of the cards to provide him with a much needed monster. He drew his card forcefully and was rewarded with, "Retrained Celtic Guardian(1400/1200) come out and attack Red Gadget!" The elvish warrior was summoned and immediately rushed across the field, swinging its blade at the red machine. To everyone's surprise the stronger attacker's sword bounced off of Red Gadget's body.   
  
"Sorry Yami, but that won't work. I've activated my face down card, Anti-Destruct. As long as its face-up, no face-up defense monster can be destroyed by battle!" With this declaration Yami was forced to end his turn, knowing that he couldn't defeat any of Yugi's defense monster. Worse yet, since Bakura was his partner, Gelnia was now immune to battle as well.   
  
Bakura laughed at the pharaoh's discomfort and drew his card, laughing even harder as he saw exactly what he had been hoping for. This card would make everything much easier. "I play Painful Choice!" He searched through his deck and picked out his cards, displaying each one to his opponents. Yami saw only demon monsters...meaning Bakura wanted to bring out Dark Necrophia. He picked one and the thief discarded the others.  
  
"I'll sacrifice Gelnia for Earl of Demise(2000/700)! And now I'll use the effect of my deck master, Venom Drain!" Ryou yelped in surprise as Bakura' deck master's snake bottom snapped across the field and plunged its fangs into his Nightmare of Thebes...and watched in horror as its power trickled away. (NoT: 1200/1500)   
  
"Now I play a special card called Holding Chains, which can prevent the activation of one face down card for this entire turn. I choose Yami's face down!" Silver chains erupted from the earth and wrapped around Yami's face down Mirror Force, binding it for the duration of the turn. With that out of the way, Bakura leapt into action.   
  
"Both my monsters shall attack!" The two monsters leapt into action, but Yami stepped up to defend against the attack by putting Retrained Celtic Guardian in the way of Earl of Demise's attack, dropping Yami's life points. The second attack struck the flame monster and destroyed it. (RLP: 6700, YYLP: 2400)  
  
Now it was Ryou's turn again, and he drew his card, hoping for something good to protect him. Slowly he brought the card up in front of him and then grinned widely at the sight of that card. "I play Monster Reborn, reviving Nightmare of Thebes(3000/1500)!" The flame monster was restored, boosted to double its base size by its own effect.   
  
"Nightmare of Thebes, destroy Wandering Zombie!" The creature roared out its flames, and then Bakura began laughing as he activated his next card, a very special card. A barrier of darkness sprang up and stopped the attack in its tracks, forcing Ryou to end his turn.  
  
"You've run into my Ghost Shield! By removing one demon from my cemetery I can stop your attack and end your battle phase, and as long as I have demons in my cemetery I can maintain my trap!" Ryou and Yami grimaced, knowing they'd have to find a way past that card soon if they wanted to accomplish anything.  
  
With that out of the way Yugi drew his card, and with that card came a change in his game plan. No more defensive theory, now was time for attacking head on! "I'll set one card, then sacrifice my monsters for Destructive Dragon Gondola(2900/2800) and I transfer some of my deck master's gained attack points to raise his attack to 4400!"  
  
The dragon, an incredibly fierce black beast, let out a fearful roar as its power was massively increased. With that sort of power it could easily overcome anything any of the others could throw out. With this, Yugi could take control. As much as it pained him to do so...the best target was, "Gondola, attack Yami's Retrained Celtic Guardian and burn away the last of his life points!"   
  
The dragon sent a jet of flame streaming towards the much weaker elf, however it was interrupted by a barrier as Mirror Force activated, shooting the flame right back at Yugi and his monster. "I thought you had Mirror Force waiting, that's why I had my own card waiting. Absolute Negation, activate!" There was a bright flash of light, and suddenly everything was as it had been before the attack, except Yami's face down card was gone, used up.  
  
Yami took his turn, discovering exactly what he needed to see. He now had a way to take control of the duel...but how best to go about it. He smirked, realizing what he could do, and put it into action. "I sacrifice for Summoned Skull(2500/1200)!" His demon monster appeared in place of the elf, and let out a display of electric power as it charged up.  
  
"Now I'll play two cards in combination, the first is called Pump Up, which doubles my monster's attack power for this turn. My second card is Type Shift, which lets me change Pump Up from a normal magic card into an equip card!" The demon let out a shrill cry as a storm of electricity jumped up around it, readying it for battle as its power doubled to a massive five thousand points.   
  
"Summoned Skull, use your Lightning Strike to destroy Destructive Dragon Gondola!" Summoned Skull cast out its hands, gathering together its power. Then it thrust that power forwards in the form of a sphere of electricity which surged towards the dragon. However to everyone's surprise the barrier of Bakura's Ghost Shield came up, meaning Bakura had willing given up a monster from his cemetery to protect Yugi.   
  
Now it was Bakura's turn, and it was time to act. The biggest target was of course the skull, so he'd have to deal with that before anything else. And he knew exactly how to. "Diabound Carnel, use your Venom Drain on Summoned Skull!" The skull barely managed to ward off the attack, but it was unable to keep the fangs from sinking into its arm, releasing a full doze of venom which dropped its attack down to a respectable thirty-eight hundred.   
  
"Now I'll simply set one card face down and end my turn." His lighter half drew a card and glanced down at it. As he did his monster lost its power bonus and dropped back to a measly 1500 points. However Ryou didn't look too upset with his card. In fact he looked happy.  
  
"I use Pot of Greed to draw two cards." He did so, and then examined the cards, smiling happily at what he saw. "Now I'll set one card, and sacrifice Nightmare of Thebes for End of Anubis(2500/2000) which prevents you from effecting your graveyard while its in play, negating your Ghost Shield!" Ryou's new monster was a powerful looking jackal warrior who didn't look too happy. At that moment Ryou signaled that his turn was over, obviously not ready to make an attack yet.  
  
Yugi took the top card from his deck and glanced down at it, assessing his five card hand. He had something here, he could make this work. He could beat Yami, prove that he was capable. He didn't want to, but it had to be done! "I play Cost Summons, which lets me summon up any level four or under monsters from my hand, which are destroyed at the end of my turn."  
  
Two monsters, one a white clad magician and the other a puny looking dragon, appeared on the field in front of the mini duelist, who grinned as they were summoned. "Now I play Sacrifices, which lets me destroy your monsters, both of them, by engaging in battle with them. So first I power up my dragon by 500 points, and then I send my two monsters to attack yours!"  
  
Yami and Ryou glanced at each other, uncertain what Yugi was up to. As weak as his monsters were, they'd make him take a huge amount of damage when they were destroyed. It was like committing suicide. "Think I'm crazy? Think again! Activate Waboku!"  
  
The two monsters collided with End of Anubis and Summoned Skull, and then in a flash of light the four monsters exploded, but because of the power of Waboku, Yugi's life points were saved from being obliterated. And now, both player's were completely open to an attack. There was nothing to stop him at all.   
  
"Forgive me Yami, but this is something that I have to at least try. Destructive Dragon Gondola...I command you to defeat Yami once and for all with your Final Flame Attack!" The fierce dragon issued forth a huge stream of black flame that streamed towards the defenseless Yami, ready to crush him. There was absolutely no way to stop the attack, none at all.  
  
"Prepare yourself chattel as I unleash the true power of Atlantis. Final Countdown, activate!" The two other duelists looked on in horror as a giant burning face appeared in the sky above them, looming like a signal of some terrible fate that might await them. But what the card did...that was something different.  
  
"At a cost of a mere two thousand life points I can declare victory in this duel with the powers of the Seer! I have seen your fate mortals, and it lies in the hands of this single card. I require nothing else to defeat you but this!"   
  
Tristan and Duke shot each other significant glances, each one trying to think of what this card might do. However, neither was coming up with any answer. All they could see was the burning head hovering high above them, looking like it would fall at any moment. Tristan decide to make the question. "What does it do?"(HLP: 6000)  
  
"Now, by the effect of my card, in twenty turns counting from this turn, you shall lose this duel and I shall be the victor! In twenty turns your fate will be sealed! Or perhaps less...I'll continue my turn by playing the second card to insure victory, Orichalcos Ziggurat!"   
  
As he played the card, the ground started to shake. The two other duelists stared in shock as the ground behind Hiyazaku exploded, and from it rose a giant black temple, which at its head had a giant symbol of a six pointed star. The temple gave off an eerie green glow that put the two on edge more then they already were.   
  
"This card is a critical card in my strategy, and therefore I must pay for its great power. It will cost me one thousand points to activate, and another five hundred each standby phase. But its worth it. Go ahead, take your turns. They only lead to your destruction!" (HLP: 5000)  
  
Tristan drew his card, mentally counting the payments that Hiyazaku would have to make on his magic card. To his dissatisfaction he determined that they would run out of turns before Hiyazaku ran out of life points. But luckily for them he had left himself wide open for a direct attack. "I'll place a card face down and summon Nin-ken Dog(1800/1000), which I'll use to attack you directly!"   
  
The brown-furred ninja dog was summoned to the field, and instantly charged across the field, going into a leaping kick to strike down Hiyazaku, diminishing his life points to a minimal thirty-two hundred. But to their surprise the big eye-ball that was Kitoras moved in the way, and Nin-ken Dog bounced off. "What the hell?"  
  
Hiyazaku smirked and gestured with one hand towards his deck master which was moving back to its position behind him, next to the ziggurat. It seemed perfectly unharmed by the attack, and according to the counter, so were his life points. "My Kitoras is capable of absorbing the damage from an attack, leaving me unharmed. Rather simple isn't it? That means your essentially unable to harm me whatsoever!"   
  
Duke and Tristan grimaced, and it came time for Duke to take his turn. He did so, drawing his card and looking over his hand to form a strategy. He had his strategy easy and ready, but he had to hope it worked. "I'll set a card face down and then I'll play a special magic card known as Reasoning!" The two cards appeared on the field, one face down and the other face up. It was all up to Hiyazaku now.   
  
"And what does this card do?" Duke grinned and drew the first card off his deck, holding it out to the side as he started to explain.   
  
"You have to declare a level, anything at all. I start drawing cards, and when I get to the first monster I have to show it. If the monster is that level, then I discard everything I've drawn, including the monster. If it isn't the level, everything else is discarded and I can special summon that monster. So go ahead and name a level!"   
  
Hiyazaka smiled slightly, understanding that such a move was desperate, and could ruin a person's deck quite easily. Playing something like that could make you lose many worthwhile cards, but in these two's decks, he doubted there actually was anything worthwhile. "I do not care what sort of creatures you possess. No monster and no strategy can harm the mighty Hiyazaku. Therefore I will declare level twelve. Summon whatever monster you wish, it shall not avail you."  
  
Duke grinned and started drawing cards, depositing first a Polymerization card, then a Summoning Dice, next came a Fairy Meteor Crush, and finally he drew...."Orgoth the Relentless(2500/2000) come on out!" The massive armored warrior shimmered into view, towering over Tristan, Duke, Hiyazaku, and the Nin-ken Dog. It was easily the mightiest monster on the field.   
  
"Now I'll counteract your deck master's effect by giving it a second target. Since you can only absorb one attack, my second one will make it through. So here comes Ryu-Kishin Powered(1600/1000)! Both my monsters attack!" The two monsters rushed into the fray, the big warrior and the giant gargoyle, ready to deal serious damage if they could. However, Kitoras moved into the way, and with a blaze of power it absorbed not one, but both attacks.  
  
"Did you really assume that simply attacking with two monsters would help? My Orichalcos Kitoras will absorb the damage of every single attack you make, meaning attacks are completely useless. And so are you. Does this mean you're finished?" Duke cursed silently and nodded in response, hoping that Hiyazaku didn't get anything good as he drew his card and went into the standby phase. (HLP: 4500)  
  
The blue haired man stared at his hand for several moments and then look up at the two shorter duelists. He sneered and selected three of his cards, then casually deposited them into the cemetery. As he did so, three more cards appeared face down on the field in front of him. "Using the effect of my ziggurat I discard three cards from my hand to set three cards from my deck onto the field. And that shall be the end of my turn."   
  
Tristan blinked in surprise and stared at the three cards as his turn started. He idly wondered exactly what those cards were, but then realized he could at least get rid of one this turn. "I'll play Battle Footballer(100/2100) in defense mode, and then play Remove Trap on the middle card!" First Tristan's monster, a mechanical football player, appeared, and then the Remove Trap flipped up Hiyazaku's middle card.  
  
"I shall chain that card with the activation of the card you try to destroy, Pyro Clock of Destiny! Now time is advanced forwards one turn, bringing you one step closer to absolute defeat!" Both other player's gasped as time warped, and they realized exactly how badly in trouble they were, they situation couldn't get much worse then this.  
  
Duke went into his turn, but realized that without knowing how to get past Kitoras and not knowing what the other two down cards were, he had no method in figuring out what to do. There really wasn't anything to do. "One card face down and Yaranzo(1300/1000) in attack mode. That's all I can do." Two cards appeared, one a skeleton and the other face down. Then Hiyazaku started his turn and made his life point payment. (HLP: 4000)  
  
"Now I shall use my two face down cards to make this duel even harder for you. I activate two Orichalcos Renewals! Each one allows me to regain life points equal to the difference between my base life points and my current, therefore granting me a total of eight thousand points!" (HLP: 12000) Now the situation truly was hopeless. Not only couldn't they deal damage to him, but his life points were much higher then there's as well. And time was ticking away until their defeat!"  
  
"I'll discard two more cards to set up two cards from my deck, to give you more to worry about. That is all." The two cards appeared in front of him, and each of the two duelists started worrying. Were they more Pyro Clock's, or was it something else equally sinister? There was no way they could tell.  
  
"I summon Great Angs(1800/400) and then, what?" His startled comment was caused by one of Hiyazaku's cards flipping up. Surprisingly it was a card that Tristan recognized called Forceful Motion, which made all of a person's monsters enter the battle phase, in this case meaning him and Duke. But why?  
  
Each of their monsters rushed in and was beaten back by the absorbing effect of the annoying eyeball. Little did they know this minor strategy was just something he had waiting in case they made it past his other monsters. Every point of damage Kitoras absorbed paved the way for a monster with enormous power.   
  
As Tristan ended his turn, it became Duke's, who summoned a Dark Blade(1800/1000), and then was shocked by Hiyazaku activating his second down card, another Forceful Motion. Yet again all of their monsters attacked, only to be stopped by the eyeball. And according to Duke's math, the eyeball had just absorbed over ten thousand points of damage for seemingly no reason. What was Hiyazaku up to?  
  
(HLP: 11500) Hiyazaku glanced down at his two cards, then laughed briefly as he discarded one of them, setting another card from his deck onto the field. This duel was becoming boring and tedious. "You two are truly pathetic. You can't even make a worthwhile stand against me let alone deal any damage. Absolutely pathetic."  
  
With little to do, all Tristan managed was to summon Sonic Duck(1400/800), wait for a brief moment to see if Hiyazaku would activate his face down card, and then end his turn when the blue haired freak didn't do anything. Both player's had assembled an army of monsters, but each one was useless.  
  
Duke started off by summoning La Jinn(1800/1000), but soon his hopes for reprieve were cut off by the activation of Hiyazaku's face down card. And to Duke's lack of surprise, it turned out to be the third and final Forceful Motion, meaning Kitoras would be absorbing a grand total of fourteen thousand one hundred points of damage in a single turn. And why? Damned if he knew.  
  
(HLP: 11000) Hiyazaku took a look at the card he had drawn and then back to his other hand, and chose that this moment he wouldn't discard. There was no need for such desperation. He could sit it out and wait, or he could attack now and win. But he didn't want to bother with an attack on such slime. "This is truly boring me. If you don't offer me a challenge then I'll be forced to....what in the world?"   
  
At these words all those present turned their heads up to stared at the quickly approaching black object that was...flying. Whatever it was it would be there any moment, and it wasn't necessarily friendly. As it grew closer they recognized it as being a dragon. In fact it was....Red Eyes Black Dragon!   
  
Duke and Tristan yelled in joy as the dragon swept down and Joey in all his blonde haired glory jumped off his dragon's back and dropped down in front of them. He looked up and came eye to eye with Hiyazaku, who was clearly impressed by Joey's entrance, and by his dragon. "Yo guys, what's up?"  
  
Duke and Tristan gave him a quick run down, and Joey's eyes widened as it continued. He shook his head in disgust and pushed them both aside, stepping in the way. His duel disk activated and he held it forwards, ready to take action. "Listen up ya freakazoid, these two are my friends, but they're both pretty sad duelists. If ya want a real challenge let me take over for em, same rules and everything. So waddya say? Yes? No? Or are you afraid of little ol' me?"  
  
Hiyazaka was incensed by these words, and he was willing to accept this as true words of a challenge. If this mortal could offer him more of a challenge then it was all the better! "I shall accept this challenge, you replacing these two fools. I'd be amazed if you could even damage me, but go ahead. Take over where they were. You may have their monsters and such, but you may not command them as they have more then your monster zones can contain. My turn is over, so feel free to begin!"  
  
Joey grinned and drew a hand of a six cards, then looked over at his cards. Duke had explained what this freak's deck master could do, and Joey had a way to defeat that. But he had to do it quickly, or else he'd be finished. "Think you're tough huh blue boy? Well this monster says different. Come on out, Man-Throwing Troll(1000/1800)!" Joey's monster was a massive troll, taller even then Orgoth. It was so big that it made the giant axe wielding warrior look like a child wield a play toy.   
  
"I'll continue by setting two cards, and then I'll use my monster's special ability. I can sacrifice normal non-token monsters in order to inflict eight hundred points of damage directly to your life points. And since it ain't battle, your deck master can't absorb it! Tell me? Can ya count? I count nine normal monsters in play on my side...so say goodbye to seventy-two hundred life points! Man-Throwing Troll, do your stuff!"   
  
The massive troll began picking up the monsters and one by one chucking them at Hiyazaku. As they got near they exploded, taking out a chunk of his life points with each one. Finally the troll picked up Orgoth in both hands and hurled it at Hiyazaku, laughing tauntingly as the big warrior exploded. (HLP: 3800)  
  
Hiyazaku looked furious as he drew his card, practically ready to burst a blood vessel. He was furious not just because his life points had taken such a serious turn for the worse, but because the damage had been done by someone who was his inferior. "Pot of Greed!"  
  
He drew his two cards, choosing not to pay for the ziggurat, thereby destroying it. Then he looked at his two cards, and put his plan into action. He would now crush his opponent with practiced ease as he brought out his true deck master, and unveiled his true power. "I shall show you the true power of Atlantis. The might that I possess resides within this one card! Seal of Orichaclos!"  
  
"Forgive me Yami, but this is something that I have to at least try. Destructive Dragon Gondola...I command you to defeat Yami once and for all with your Final Flame Attack!" The fierce dragon issued forth a huge stream of black flame that streamed towards the defenseless Yami, ready to crush him. There was absolutely no way to stop the attack, none at all.  
  
Or so it seemed. "Buster Blader, use your deck master effect! Dragon Slaying Sword!" Yugi gasped as the sword wielding dragon slayer jumped straight over Yami's head and swung down with his massive sword. To his horror the sword connected with his dragon's head, and cut it off with that single swipe. The rest of the body exploded into tiny particles, and he was left to take the damage. (YLP: 3100)   
  
"Sorry Yugi, but the effect of my deck master lets me destroy an attacking dragon and deal damage to my opponent's life points equal to the dragon's attack strength." Yugi grimaced and dropped onto his knees, letting his turn end as there was nothing left that he could do. If Yami got anything good in his draw, then it was over for him. No way Bakura would risk protecting him this time around.   
  
"Forgive me Yugi, but I must do this. I move Buster Blader(3100/2300) onto the field, and then play Monster Reborn, reviving End of Anubis(2500/2000). Buster Blader attacks directly, and End of Anubis will attack Earl of Demise!" Yugi cried out as the blader's sword slashed across his chest, dropping his life points down to zero and knocking him out of the game. Then End of Anubis slashed at Bakura's monster, only to be destroyed itself.  
  
"Pharaoh, Go To Hell! In fact, that's my trap card. It destroys the monster that destroyed one of mine, and makes you take the damage. See, even without my partner I can't lose!" (YYLP: 1900) Yami grimaced, realizing exactly what this meant. His impulsive move might cost him the duel, because now his deck master was exposed to an attack.   
  
Bakura grinned widely as he declared an attack using his own deck master's effect. The warrior tried to fend off the snake bottom, but the teeth clamped down on its head, draining its power down to a mere 1300. "I'll set one card face down, and attack your deck master with Wandering Zombie, to finish you off!"   
  
The zombie hurled itself across the field, intent on destroying Buster Blader and defeating Yami, but what Bakura seemed to have forgotten was that Yami wasn't dueling alone. He had Ryou on his side to protect him. "Activate face down card, Protect Me! This lets me take direct damage from an attack in order to save a monster from being destroyed!" The attack turned on him and mowed him down, dropping his life points severely with that single strike. (RLP: 4700)  
  
Ryou glanced down at the card he had drawn and understood exactly what he could do. Now was his moment of triumph, he could at last get rid of the threat that was his darker half. "I play Giant Trunade!" Bakura let out a cry of despair as the heavy wind picked up, sending his cards back into his hand, leaving Wandering Zombie as his only protection.   
  
"Now I'll use my deck master effect. Rise of the Pharaoh! First I can put up to five level two or less zombie sub-types in the cemetery. And now I activate Second Coffin and Third Coffin from my deck!" Five streams of light poured into the cemetery and then two fancy coffins appeared alongside the first coffin. Now everything was set up, a strange strategy that was quite difficult to pull off under normal circumstances.  
  
"Now the final effect of my deck master, I special summon Pharaonic Mummy(2500/2500) to the field, whose effect lets me revive up to four level two or lower zombies from the grave!" Ryou's new monster was a very tall thing in the dress wear of the ancient mummy's with golden mask and all. It also had a shepherd's hook in one hand.   
  
"Now I raise two Pharaoh's Servants(900/0 X2) and two Pharaonic Guardians(900/0 X2)!" The four monster rose up, each tall and garbed in the robes of ancient Egypt. Each one of them was a strange creature, somewhat undead, and Bakura recognized the names as those of booster sets for the game. Funny actually.   
  
"My monsters all attack!" First the Pharaonic Mummy charged in and broke his Wandering Zombie apart with a quick blow from its shepherd's staff. Then the four other monsters collided with him, knocking him off his feet and ripping into his life points. (BLP: 3400)  
  
Bakura coughed briefly, getting his wind back as he rose to his feet. It was now Yami's turn, but it wasn't anything to worry about. He'd have this turn free, and then his next turn he'd be able to protect himself again and get on the path to victory. "Poor Pharaoh, can't do anything this turn. You could attack me with your deck master, but then you'd just have to suffer the consequences as I moved my own deck master to block it and defeat you. There's nothing you can do!"  
  
Yami looked up from his hand and up at Bakura, meeting the thief's eyes. And to Bakura's great surprise, he saw the gleam of triumph in those eyes. What could he possibly have that would give him such a look? He had no chance! "My deck master on its own can't do anything this turn...but combined with other monsters it can. Witness this! Polymerization fuses my deck master with the Dark Magician to create the Dark Paladin(3400/2600)!"  
  
Bakura dropped his entire hand to the ground, and fell to his knees. It couldn't be. It had happened again. He had been defeated by the Pharaoh for the fourth time. It was over...there was nothing left for him. "Say goodnight thief, because this is your end!" And with a single slice of his monster's sword, Bakura lost the last of his life points, and it was all over. (BLP: 0)  
  
Yami opened his mouth to say more, as did Yugi, but suddenly a dark cloud appeared above them, and all eyes turned upon them. Suddenly two bolts of black lightning shot from the sky and connected with the two defeated duelists, blinding everyone else for that single moment.  
  
The light faded...letting Yami and Ryou see the truth. There was nothing left of Bakura and Yugi, no trace besides the burnt spot where the lightning had struck. They were no more. "NOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!!!!!!!!!!" Yami's cry split the sky in half, and far away laughter filled the air.  
  
I shall show you the true power of Atlantis. The might that I possess resides within this one card! Seal of Orichaclos!" Joey looked around in confusion as a giant green circle formed around them, and a six pointed star formed upon it. Then the same symbol appeared on Hiyazaku's forehead, making him look even crueler then before. As it formed Duke and Tristan were hurled away.   
  
"Now none can leave and none can enter. The only way out is to win the duel. Not only will this grant me added powers, but the loser of this duel will forfeit their soul!" Joey and his friends gasped as they learned this news, but then Joey's face hardened. If this was what it took, then that would be what he had to do. Whatever he had to do, he'd do it.  
  
"Now the magic card, Mirror of the Mirror Knights! By discarding one level four monster from my hand I can special summon four Mirror Knights(0500/0)! Each of my monsters gains dark power, and from it comes five hundred added attack points!" The four monsters were silver clad knights, each one holding a reflective shield and a sharp looking sword.   
  
"The next step is the ultimate transformation. My deck master Kitoras now becomes Orichalcos Shinoras(40000/0) whose attack points are equal to the damage Kitoras had absorbed! And now he generates Orichalcos Aishiteros and Orichalcos Dekshios!" The eyeball vanished and what appeared in its place had to be forty or fifty feet tall, higher then anything else on the field. It was green and looked like a goofy statue, whose right and left arms soon detached themselves. But its attack points were staggering!  
  
"I will now attack with Dekshios, which always has three hundred more attack points then the monster it attacks, and it takes these points from Shinoras, so say goodbye to Man-Throwing Troll!" The right arm shot out, ready to spear his troll, but he was ready for such a hasty move. One of his trap cards flipped up, revealing Magic-Arm Shield which shot out and captured one of the Mirror Knights putting it in the way. The knight shattered, and it was Hiyazaku's turn to lose life points again. (HLP: 3500)   
  
"Surprising that you manage to accomplish anything. But watch yourself chattel, for my knights become the attack strength of any monster they attack. So I have one attack your troll and the other two attack directly!" Each knight took off, first one slicing straight through the massive troll, and then the other two cutting Joey, sending him flying back up against the barrier of the seal which shocked him and dropped him to his knees. (JLP: 6500)  
  
Joey took a stuttering breath and rose to his feet, drawing a card as he did so. This stuff was now unrelentingly real, so he'd have to be careful, or else he'd end up the worse in this duel. "I'll set a card down and summon Alligator Sword(1500/1000) in attack mode, and then I'll play Monster Reborn on Man-Throwing Troll. My two monsters attack two of your Mirror Knights!" The troll lumbered over and smashed one with brute force, while the lizard-like warrior sliced another in half with his scimitar. (HLP: 2000)  
  
"Now Man-Throwing Troll, toss Alligator Sword!" The giant troll hefted the shocked beast-warrior in one hand, and then hurled him at incredible speeds at Hiyazaku. The blue-haired duelist was blown backwards by the sheer force of the detonation, but he managed to rise again, ready to continue. (HLP: 1200)  
  
Hiyazaku drew his card and inwardly tried not to curse. It made no sense whatsoever that some normal human was able to bring he, the great Seer Hiyazaku, to this low of a level in life points! It just didn't happen. 'This cannot be any normal mere mortal. There is something special about this one.'  
  
"I shall have my final Mirror Knight attack and destroy Man-Throwing Troll!" The knight charged across the field and jumped into the air, coming down swinging with his blade. However at the last moment both of Joey's face down cards flipped up, and Hiyazaku's attempt to trash the troll failed.   
  
"I activate Scapegoat and Shift! Sending your attack to one of my goats, protecting my troll and my life points!" The four different colored goats were summoned to the field, and the knight sliced through one, unable to do any real damage because the goats were in defense mode. Now Hiyazaku had one other chance.  
  
"I was intending to deal damage, but if that is how it shall be, then I'll simply destroy two more tokens with Deskhios and Aishiteros!" The two arms shot out, each one spearing a goat token and destroying it, leaving Joey with one token and Man-Throwing Troll left over. There was one last move Hiyazaku could make, and it would prevent Man-Throwing Troll from doing any further damage.  
  
"My next move is to activate Cast Away, which removes one monster on the opponent's field from the game until the end of my next turn. So say goodbye to your Man-Throwing Troll!" The giant troll roared as it started to flicker in and out, and then as quickly as it had been summoned, it vanished into thin air...or maybe thick air.   
  
Joey drew his card, and started counting. Things weren't looking good at the moment, but there just might be a way to pull this off...but Hiyazaku didn't think so. And he said as much. "Foolish mortal. Have you counted the turns? This is the nineteenth turn, and should my next turn begin, then you will fail and I will claim victory! You cannot possibly win in one turn, there is no way to accomplish it!"   
  
Joey held up two cards, and started his play, knowing that this was the one chance he had. "Not possible? Those words ain't in Joey Wheeler's vocabulary! So check this out, Soldier Soul! And at a cost of fifteen hundred life points, I'll revive Dark Blade, La Jinn, and Alligator Sword all in defense mode!" The three named monsters appeared on the field, and Joey's life points took a dip at that moment. However, Hiyazaku still saw no chance, because the monsters were in defense mode. (JLP: 5000)  
  
"I bet you think that I just made a stupid move. But what you didn't realize was that what I intended was to sacrifice those three monsters to summon my strongest creature, the all-powerful thunder deity, Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400)!" There was a loud popping sound, and the three monsters shattered into tiny pieces, making way for the armored and armed thunder deity known as Gilford.   
  
Gilford unsheathed his sword and swept it down, sending a stream of electric power at Dekshios, Aishiteros, and the last Mirror Knight. All three shattered into tiny pieces, and unfortunately for Hiyazaku, one of the restrictions to having Shinoras as a deck master, was that it could not be placed on the field. "Say bu-bye Hiyazaku, cuz here comes Gilford's Lightning Blade!"   
  
On the outside of the seal Duke and Tristan cheered Joey on as the warrior of lightning charged forwards with his sword, ready to strike down Hiyazaku. The said duelist had a stupefied look on his face, as did his three soldiers. How could any mortal possibly do this to the great Hiyazaku? "I refuse to be defeated!"  
  
An explosion of power erupted from Hiyazaku, and in that blaze of power Shinoras vanished, and Kitoras returned in its place. The eyeball moved forwards and absorbed the attack, letting it accomplish nothing. "That was the last time my deck master could be used, the final effect of Shinoras to let it return Kitoras as my deck master for one final save. And now...there is nothing you can do."  
  
Joey fell to his knees in horror as Hiyazaku started his turn, and the burning head high above swooped down upon Joey and ripped away his energy, letting the seal close in upon him and take his soul. The twentieth turn had come, and all was lost.   
  
With that finished Hiyazaku turned away and started walking. Tristan and Duke rushed to Joey's body, trying to wake him up, but to no avail. The three soldiers followed after the blue haired man, one asking why they weren't dealing with the other two humans. "Because this was one battle that I did not deserve to be. That mortal deserves a space amongst the Atlantians for his great skill and determination."  
  
The most miraculous thing ever had just happened. After being in the desert for far too many hours, the two exhausted travelers had come across an oasis. Jumping for joy the two duelists entered the jungle-like area, relaxing against trees as they soaked up the lack of sun under the shade of a big tree. Both had pulled their duel disks off and were snoozing, mostly.   
  
Drake blinked as his ear caught the sound of something oddly familiar. If it was really moving water then...he pulled himself up from his sitting position and brushed aside some palm leaves. What he saw was a little thing of water, a waterfall, and something else entirely. "Kai...check this out."  
  
The other duelist roused himself and joined Drake in looking, his first reaction was like Drake's, just taking in the sight of the water. But then his eyes fell upon what Drake was really looking at, and he turned away, blushing slightly. "You can't look like that, its not right."  
  
Drake rolled his eyes at this and leaned over again, watching the sights. Sitting on a rock just beneath the waterfall was a very attractive petite brunette in a bikini. She had her head turned up to the water, letting it run down her body in little rivulets.   
  
Because of this Drake couldn't see her face, but the rest of her was definitely worth watching. She wasn't gorgeous, but she was certainly cute. Good body, everything he could ask for. And Kai was just sitting there being grumpy. Damned goody goodies. "You should really watch while you can, it's the only chance you'll get to see a girl like that."  
  
Drake wasn't looking at Kai when he said this, but he was fairly certain that the comment had pissed the other boy off. In fact he learned the hard way that this was the case, as a hand reached out and idly shoved his back. "Quit being such a pig."   
  
What Kai didn't realize when he did this was that since the waterfall was lower then they were, there was a short hill between them and the water. Of course the little shove pushed Drake off balance, and down he went tumbling end over end down the hill. "Oops."  
  
Drake slid to a halt and coughed up some dirt. He slowly picked himself up, finding himself at the edge of the water. As he looked upwards he found himself looking straight into a set of very familiar eyes on a very familiar face. "Drake?"  
  
Drake gulped and smiled slightly, realizing just how bad this must look. "Umm...hi Serenity."  
  
Author's Notes: Uh-oh, trouble in the future! Yeah, that's all.  
  
original Cards  
  
Hiyazaku: Forceful Motion, Orichalcos Ziggurat, Mirror of Mirror Knights, Orichalcos Renewal, Cast Away  
  
Yami Yugi: Type Shift  
  
Bakura: Voodoo Doll, Holding Chains, Go To Hell  
  
Ryou: Sacrifice Maneuver, Super Electric Burst, Protect Me  
  
Yugi: Anti-Destruct, Absolute Negation, Cost Summons, Sacrifices  
  
Doom Arc Cards: Soldier Soul(Raphael), Pump Up(Yami), Orichalcos Shinoras, Aishiteros, Deskhios, Kitoras(all Dartz), Seal of Orichalcos(every major duelist in the arc except Joey and Kaiba)  
  
Others: Other cards you may not have recognized, that is, those that Ryou uses, are from the Pharaoh's Inheritance expansion set, which will be half of Ancient Sanctuary when it comes out. 


	26. Taichi's Return and the Hidden Devil

Disclaimers: No layers! I mean, no Yugioh owned here. No sue me!  
  
Author's Note: Okay, here goes a major kick butt chapter and the first of several major duels in this arc of this story. Get ready, cuz here it comes!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "Fear leads to anger, anger leads to hate, hate leads to suffering..." -Yoda, Jedi Master, Episode I  
  
Chapter Twenty-Five: Taichi's Return and the Hidden Devil  
  
A dark haired, blue-eyed boy of about fifteen glanced up from the small fire he had been making and saw a large horse approach at a gallop. A smile crossed his face as the rider of that horse jumped from it and did a flip in mid-air, managing to turn it over successfully and land gracefully in front of the boy. "Hello there. What can I do for you?"  
  
"You could die if you were really in a friendly mood. I'd like that." The dark haired boy sighed and rose to his feet, brushing off with pant legs. Slowly he stretched, cracking his back, his neck, and popping his fingers. Then when he seemed satisfied he fully turned his attentions on the black haired man in gi in front of him.   
  
"Takuya was it? Sorry, I'm not taking requests of that nature. Of course if you're really determined to see that through, then if you win the once in a life time contest I can grant that for you." Kensai sneered at these words, his hand falling to his pocket as he activated his duel disk. He could the others approaching from far behind, and knew that by the time they arrived they wouldn't be able to intervene at all.   
  
"You know something? I'm going to take you up on that. One duel to determine who lives and who dies. Eight thousand life points and no deck master. That should make this good for both of us. But don't expect to last long." His opponent, Taichi Nobuki, picked up the duel disk that lay next to him and placed it on his arm, activating it. Now both duelists were ready, decks shuffled and minds ready to go into action.   
  
"That's all fine with me, but if you really intend to beat me you're going to have to develop new and improved skills really quickly, because without that you don't stand a chance." Kensai grinned and pulled the card in his pocket free, opening the space on his duel disk that was reserved for field cards. Then he slapped the card down, and grinned as the circle started to form around them, and the six pointed star began to make its connections.  
  
"I don't need new skills, because I have the Seal of Orichalcos, which will grant me dark power! Power that I will use to crush you!" His hair swirled about from the force of the power of the seal, and upon his forehead formed the symbol of the seal, that dreaded six pointed star etched in green.   
  
Taichi cocked an eyebrow in surprise at this new development, but chose to ignore it as he drew six cards, signaling that he was going to take the first move. He did so, playing a very annoying card as his first card. "My initial move is the card Defense Wall, which lets me set any number of monsters from my hand onto the field. I'll set three monsters, and then place a card face down to end my turn."  
  
The four cards appeared, four of them horizontal and the other vertical behind them. With this out of the way, Kensai drew his sixth card and looked at it, deciding on his move. Already he had the perfect way to take his opponent down. "You're being stupid Taichi! Defense monsters can't protect you from me. So here go two cards face down, and now I summon Shield Cleaver(1600500/500) which gains dark power, increasing its attack by five hundred!"  
  
Kensai's monster was a heavily armored warrior wielding a bladed chain which he twirled with great skill. As soon as he unleashed it, Taichi would be finished off. "Shield Cleaver, attack the middle defense monster!" The warrior hurled his bladed chain, and pierced right through a purple glob.   
  
"Fool! You've helped me out by destroying Giant Germ, dealing five hundred damage to you and letting me summon two more in attack mode!" The two purple globes formed in front of Taichi, but the dark duelist's laughter was cut short as he heard the tinkling sound of the life point counter dropping. His eyes fell to his duel disk and he watched in horror as his life points took a severe drop. (TLP: 6000)  
  
"Confused Taichi? Well there's a reason he's called Shield Cleaver. Defenses are worthless with him around, because he can deal damage even if your monster is in defense, and because your germ had such a pitiful defense, you lost two thousand life points! And now it'll be your turn!"  
  
The blue eyed boy drew a card and glanced at it briefly, before playing it in one of his magic zones. The card appeared in its holographic form in front of him, revealing a scarred looking man digging up coins from the burnt ground. "Treasure From Hell! Lets both get drawing!"   
  
The two duelists pulled free cards from the bottom of their decks, Taichi drew five cards and Kensai drew three cards, making them even at six cards each. However now was the moment of truth, as Taichi would unleash his deadly combo. "Prepare to meet a combo so unstoppable that...well you won't be able to stop it will you? Flip face down monster, Morphing Jar!"   
  
Kensai gasped as the creepy little creature appeared, and both players followed its effect, discarding their present hands and drawing five new ones. But one thing confused Kensai. Why would he make them draw cards, then discard them? "I bet you wonder why I made us draw and forced us to discard. Simple, so this card would be more effective. Go face down card, Forced Requisition, which makes you discard the same number of cards that I did, so say goodbye to your new hand!"   
  
The warrior duelist growled deep in his chest, and shoved the five cards into his cemetery, leaving him with an empty hand. Now that the disgusting part was over with, the idiot Taichi was left with an extremely weak monster face up. "As effective as that move was, it doesn't really accomplish anything but to give me a weak target to crush!"  
  
Taichi tutted and wagged his finger in disappointment. Then he lowered his hand to his duel disk and grabbed hold of one of the other cards on his field, but what it was Kensai couldn't tell. "I'm disappointed that you think so little of me. I'll have you know that I planned this out quite well. So I'll show you exactly how well, by flipping Shadow Demon(400/400)!"  
  
The new monster was a big bulky shadow shape with tentacles darting in and out of the shadows. Kensai was certain he also saw a big claw at one point, but it vanished too quickly for him to be sure. "What the hell is that thing going to do?"  
  
"Do? Why when flipped it lets me flip an monster on the field into face down defense mode. Guess what happens next...I flip Morphing Jar face down!" The shadow sent a jet of black fire at the creepy black creature, which vanished under it, and when the fire faded away, all that was left was the hovering holographic card of the face down Morphing Jar.  
  
Kensai cursed as he realized what that meant. But then again, he had a way past that. This combo was deadly, but nothing he couldn't get around. "Don't worry, it gets better. I now activate the second effect of Shadow Demon, which lets me flip it face down once per turn!" The shadow vanished and was replaced by its card from, exactly like it was at the beginning of the turn.   
  
Kensai marveled at how well planned this combo was, and how incredibly deadly it could be. Taichi truly was an astonishingly skilled duelist who never failed to impress his opponents, and himself of course. Taichi didn't impress anybody as much as he impressed himself. "Think I'm done? Not quite! I'll summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500) and place two cards down on the field. That's enough out of me, so go ahead and show me what you're made out of."  
  
The warrior drew a card and without looking at it began to berate his opponent. Something about the power flowing through him was making him act this way, he just couldn't help it. Not in the least bit. He was becoming nearly as dark as Taichi was.   
  
"Your combo is impressive, but it won't stand a chance against me. Not only can my Shield Cleaver deal damage when your monsters are in defense, but it can also destroy any monster it attacks face down without going into the damage step and without the monster being flipped. All I have to do is destroy your Morphing Jar with my Shield Cleaver, and then your combo is undone!"   
  
Taichi just shrugged and grinned slightly, obviously unafraid of Kensai's threats. Well he'd just have to make Taichi fear him...and his newest card would help with that. It would also help him reduce his opponent's monster number. "I summon Iron Hans(1200500/1000)!" Kensai's new monster appeared on the field, revealing a bearded wild man holding a stout axe. It let out a bellow of challenge and swung its axe around, ready to do battle.  
  
"Now according to its effect I special summon one Iron Knight(700500/500) to the field in attack mode!" The monster shimmered into view as a black armored knight hefting a jousting stick that appeared extremely sharp at the end. It was weak, but it had its strong points, particularly its ability to be special summoned so easily.   
  
"Ooo, two weak little monsters and one stronger one. Do you really think you can beat me just by summoning lots of pathetic warriors?" With these words Taichi burst out laughing, his ice blue eyes shining with mirth. The idea of him losing to Taichi was laughable, but then again there was something different about this duel then any other.   
  
"That's right, they will! Its called strength in numbers Taichi, or don't you know the basics about battle and math? Let me demonstrate strategy for you as I cut down your Morphing Jar using my Shield Cleaver's effect, and slice up your two Giant Germs with Iron Hans and Iron Knight!"   
  
The three monsters went into action, the axe wielder and the knight charged across the field, weapons at the ready. The Shield Cleaver simply hurled its bladed chain with incredible speed, sending it flying towards Taichi's face down monster. "I chain with Taunt, a permanent trap that lets me make one monster on my field the attack target of all your monsters!"   
  
Kensai gasped as his monsters changed direction towards the Demon Soldier, which brandished its wicked look blade menacingly look. By the look of things his two weaker monsters would reach the soldier first, and he'd lose life points, which he didn't need to lose. "Go face down card, Waboku! Protect my monsters!"   
  
The demon casually batted aside both the Iron Knight and Iron Hans with a slap of his blade. The two monsters were knocked backwards to their starting points, where they landed on their backs. The Shield Cleaver however had simply changed the direction of its bladed chain, which pierced into the demon's belly. (TLP: 5800)   
  
"Idiot! That move may save you once, but it gets rid of one of your better monsters and lets me clear up the field. With Demon Soldier gone, next turn I'll be able to attack your other monsters and ruin your combo!" Kensai raised one clenched fist out in front of him, smirking as he taunted his opponent. It wasn't like Taichi to make such a stupid error, but maybe Kensai was just better then he had been before. Yes, under normal circumstances that move would have smashed his other monsters and left Demon Soldier intact, but the seal had saved him.  
  
"Who said my soldier would be gone? As a matter of fact it'll be sticking around thanks to another permanent trap card called Remnant! By reducing my soldier's defense power by five hundred I can let him stay on the field even though he would have been destroyed!" Kensai could only grimace as the demon pulled the bladed chain free of its belly, and hurled it back at Shield Cleaver, who caught the chain and once again readied himself for combat.   
  
Now it was Taichi's turn again, and Kensai knew exactly what was going to happen. He was about to lose a lot of cards, and he couldn't do anything about it. Taichi smirked as he looked over his hand and casually folded it up, ready to make his move. "Remember how it goes? First I flip Morphing Jar, causing us to discard or hands, three from me and none from you. Then we each draw five, and Forced Requisition makes you lose three cards from that hand thanks to the cards I discarded."  
  
Again the Morphing Jar flipped up, and the two players went into action, drawing the necessary cards required of the deadly jar. Then Kensai selected three cards very carefully and shoved them into his cemetery. "Next up, I flip Shadow Demon to flip my Morphing Jar face down!"   
  
The shadowy creature appeared again, and this time it forced the laughing jar back into face down position using several gross looking tentacles, and to Kensai's surprise, the claw he thought he had seen. "Now I'll flip Shadow Demon face down again. Fun isn't it?"   
  
The monster issued forth a belch of some kind of noxious gas, and then reverted into its face down position, leaving Taichi free to pull off the combo in the next turn. That is, if Kensai didn't find a way past Demon Soldier in the next turn. "Poor fool, you've left your weak Iron Knight out in the open, so I met as well relieve you of it. Demon Soldier, decapitate that weakling!"  
  
The demonic creature rushed forward and jumped into the air, swinging its serrated scimitar down at his much weaker Iron Knight. If the attack connected then Kensai would be down one monster, and down seven hundred life points. "Activate Monster Relief! Now I can return one of my monster's to my hand, and then I can special summon a level four or less monster from my hand!"  
  
Taichi grinned, expecting Iron Knight to vanish and be replaced by another monster. But to his surprise Iron Hans vanished, and was soon replacing by the familiar face of Marauding Captain(1200500/400), who brandished his two blades and grinned mischievously. "And since Marauding Captain was summoned, I'll summon Swift Black Ninja(1700500/1000) from my hand!"  
  
In a blur the black clad ninja appeared, holding his daggers and moving in quick, jerky motions. It was obvious he was a speed freak, and didn't like sitting around and not being in action. Taichi just grinned at this, knowing that Marauding Captain hadn't been summoned in time to stop his attack from connecting with the Iron Knight, who feebly threw up his metal clad arm in defense. "Say goodbye to your knight!"  
  
But to Taichi's surprise the knight fended off the demon's scimitar and then thrust his jousting stick straight into its belly, piercing it. The demon soldier grasped its belly and staggered backwards, keeping its blood from flowing. "How is this possible? My demon was seven hundred points stronger!"   
  
Kensai just smirked, and began to explain. "Iron Knight comes with an added effect, when Iron Hans is not on the field he gains one thousand attack points, putting him up to twenty-two hundred, three hundred greater then your Demon Soldier." Taichi grimaced as his life points dipped slightly, and he was forced to drop his demon's defense points down to five hundred.   
  
"Very impressive move. It appears that you've improved by a great degree. I'll set two cards face down to end my turn." With that, two more cards appeared beside his other three face up cards, filling up his magic and trap zones. Kensai grinned, not caring about these new cards, they couldn't help Taichi. (TLP: 5500)  
  
He pulled free the top card of his deck and examined it carefully before deciding on what move to make. Now was the time to unveil another effect of his seal besides the dark power it granted him and his monsters, now was the time to unveil true power. "First I'll set one card face down. And next I'll summon Iron Hans, which will let me summon another Iron Knight and drop my other Iron Knight down to twelve hundred again!"  
  
The bearded woodsman appeared and was followed by a second armored black knight, who hefted his jousting stick and marched up next to his companion knight. With this summoning it made a total of six monsters, which made no sense at all. "That's impossible! You can't have six monsters, there are only five monster zones."  
  
"True, but the effect of the seal lets me play monsters in my magic and trap zones. Meaning that at the most I can play a total of ten monsters! Now I'll send Swift Black Ninja and Shield Cleaver in to attack and finally destroy your Demon Soldier, opening the way for me to attack!" With that his monsters erupted into a frenzy of motion, attacking with deadly force.  
  
Swift Black Ninja raced across the field and slashed the demon's chest with his knives before the demon could even react. Then the demon soldier was knocked to the side by Shield Cleaver's bladed chain, which dug into its shoulder. When the chain was ripped free, black ichor shot out, staining the ground in front of the demon. "That should finish our monster off." (TLP: 5000)  
  
But despite his sureness that these attacks would totally destroy the demon soldier, he learned different. One of Taichi's face down cards flipped up, revealing a massive army with shields overlapping in a phalanx maneuver. "My trap card Amass Defense boosts my monsters defense strength by seven hundred times the number of defense monsters I have, which happens to be two, raising Demon Soldier to nineteen hundred defense, letting me drop it to nine hundred to save it from being destroyed!"  
  
The warrior pounded his fist into his thigh, furious that once again Taichi had been able to stop him from successfully beating his strategy. At this rate however, Kensai would drop Taichi to zero life points just by attacking his Demon Soldier. "Fuck. This guy is really getting on my nerves. Fine, end turn!"  
  
Taichi drew another card, bumping his hand up to four cards, meaning that when Taichi performed his combo Kensai would be losing that many cards. Luckily it wasn't that damaging, and in fact dumping monsters into the cemetery was helping him pave the way for his soldier. "Ready or not, here comes Morphing Jar!"  
  
They dumped their hands into the cemetery, Kensai not having to ditch any, and then they drew new cards, Kensai ditching four of them, leaving him with only one card left in his hand. Taichi on the other hand had five cards, but at this rate he would deck himself out. "Idiot. You're going to ruin yourself instead of me."  
  
"Think so do you? We'll see. I flip up Shadow Demon, and then flip down Morphing Jar! Next I'll flip Shadow Demon face down to complete the deadly combo!" Again the vicious shadow creature appeared and covered the jar in a wisp of black fog, placing it down before it too returned into card form. But this combo was becoming more damaging to Taichi then it was to him.   
  
"Now I'll show you exactly why the combo won't be ruining me! A special magic card called Renew the Body! By its effect I can take any number of cards in my cemetery that were discarded by a card effect...and shuffle them back into my deck!" Kensai cursed again as the younger duelist ejected his cemetery and sorted through the pile, leaving only eleven cards in his graveyard, counting Renew the Body itself.   
  
"Next up, I sacrifice my germs to summon Invader of Darkness(2900/2500)! So here comes the invader, straight at your Marauding Captain!" The cloaked and cowled demon cracked its sharp claws and then raced across the field, slashing down at the much weaker monster. However Kensai had other things in his mind.  
  
"Activate Jack of All Trades! I'll sacrifice Iron Hans to special summon Jack's Knight(1900500/1000) to the field in attack mode! And since he and Jack of All Trades are both in play, you get no battle phase!" Iron Hans vanished in a blaze of fire, and replacing him was the armored blonde warrior that was Jack's Knight. The invader was halted in mid-attack, and slowly drifted back to its spot on Taichi's field.  
  
"You're pathetic Taichi! Already you've come to witness the power of my deck and yet still you try on! In just a few measly turns I've assembled an army of powerful monsters, only one of which doesn't have an attack power of over two thousand! You don't stand a chance!" At this moment both duelists heard the clip-clop of hooves fast approaching, and they turned to watch as Mai, and the others arrived on horseback.   
  
They got off the two horses and approached, but to their surprise the first to try and get past the glowing green area of the seal, Autumn, was blown backwards by its powers. "Kensai! Be careful in there! Taichi is dangerous, you could get hurt, or worse!"  
  
The warrior duelist laughed at these words and turned back towards Taichi, gesturing for him to continue with his turn. None of that mattered, all that mattered was his oath and his determination. Taichi would be ended upon his hands. "Ignore them, they don't effect this."  
  
Taichi grinned and selected one card from his hand, obviously intent on using it. The malicious look on his face was enough to tell Kensai that whatever was about to be played wouldn't be very good for him. "Witness a unique magic card of my own invention! Black Death! This virus seeps throughout the land and kills all who come in contact with it. Therefore its place on your field and at the end of your turn it will destroy all your monsters and reduce your life points by half your monster's combined attack strengths! My math says you'll drop to eleven hundred life points!"  
  
With these words a black fog spread across Kensai's field, and he watched in horror as Taichi flicked the card to him, and it magically settled into one of his m/t zones, ready to destroy him come the end of his turn. Worse yet, there was nothing Kensai had that could stop it! "Damn it....what do I do?"  
  
He could hear the others cheering him on from the outside, but he understood in his heart and in his mind that he had to win this on his own, without anybody else's support. Otherwise he'd never be a true warrior. 'Well, here goes everything...', "Draw!"  
  
He held the card down for several seconds, and then quickly turned it up so he could see what it was. The image that appeared on it told him exactly what he needed to know. This card was something special indeed. "You've actually helped me out Taichi, because you gave me fodder that I can afford. Fodder for the magic card Emergency Provisions, which lets me destroy your Black Death card since its on my field, and then I gain one thousand points!"   
  
The black fog faded away as the holographic card exploded, and his magic card granted him the bonus life points for it. And now that he had that out of the way he could move on to the next step of this turn, and hope that he had someway to defeat Taichi's combo. (KLP: 8500)  
  
"My next card is called Pot of Thieves! It's the brother to Pot of Greed, except I won't be drawing two cards from my deck....I'll be drawing them from yours! So toss me the top two cards of your deck." His opponent scowled, but pulled free two cards and tossed them across the field to him. Kensai snatched them up with one hand, and looked over them to find out exactly what they were.   
  
Upon doing so he discovered he could get in some serious damage right here and now, clearing away the threat of the combo, even from being used once. Now was the time to end Taichi's reign of terror! "I'm sure you recognize this card since it's yours. Genocide Bomb! At a cost of one thousand well-earned life points I can destroy every single card on the field!"  
  
The black bomb appeared on the field and started glowing, and then it exploded, covering everything in thick smoke, which remained for over a minute. Eventually it cleared out, somehow released from within the seal's barriers. When the smoke was gone there was nothing left between them. No monsters, no magic cards, and no traps. Just open space. (KLP: 7500)  
  
"Since the field is clear I can use Spirit of Darkness(1600500/1000) to attack you directly and drop your life points past the half-way mark! Dark Bomb Attack!" His newest monster, actually Taichi's originally, was completely shrouded in shadow, much like Shadow Demon was. And as Kensai gave the command to attack, the dark spirit sent out a sphere of darkness which raced towards Taichi, intent on destroying him.  
  
The ball exploded, and a loud shriek could be heard. Kensai watched in confusion as something was engulfed by the darkness, but it definitely wasn't Taichi. It didn't make sense, there was nothing on his field to protect him! "What the hell was that?"  
  
Taichi let out a deep, and extremely fake, yawn. Then he picked up and displayed the card that he had used. Upon seeing it Kensai understood, but he was also confused. "Kuriboh? What are you doing with a Kuriboh in your deck. You run demons don't you?"  
  
The blue eyed duelist let out a deep laugh and collapsed onto his butt, then dropped to his back. Kensai growled deep in his chest as he watched the other duelist roll around on the ground, clutching his sides as he laughed hysterically. "Damn it! What's so funny?"  
  
After about a minute more of this idiocy the dark duelist managed to shake off the laughter and rise to his feet, still clutching his sides to avoid breaking out in another fit of laughter. "You and how stupid you are. Kuriboh may be a pathetic furball, but it's actually a demon. It may be cute and cuddly, but it happens to be a fav...never mind that. Is your turn done?"  
  
Kensai nodded, absently wondering what Taichi had been about to say before he had corrected himself. The only time that he had heard the other duelist correct himself was when he had been doing it to be taunting, which didn't fit in that instance.   
  
Taichi finally got full control over his laughter and took that time to start up his turn. Kensai just had to hope that of the two cards that Taichi had, neither was useful. Right now he had a good advantage, and he wanted to keep that. "Kensai, you're very eager to crush me aren't you. But you can't beat me using my own monster, that's just foolish. Because eventually it will just return to me."  
  
"Maybe under normal circumstances it might, but since I summoned it the Spirit of Darkness belongs to me. Its my monster now!" Taichi just shrugged and inserted one of his two cards into a m/t zone. Upon activation the holographic form appeared, and Kensai understood exactly what Taichi had been talking about.  
  
"Snatch Steal grants me permanent control over your monster, all that is needed is that you will gain one thousand life points during each of your standby phases. Of course, since at the moment you can't defense yourself, I'll attack directly!" A giant bag dropped over his dark creature and pulled it over to Taichi's side, where the bag opened and it was released. Then the dark spirit shot out the black sphere that was its attack.   
  
The black bomb exploded across Kensai's chest, hurling him backwards and into the edge of the seal, which shocked his back. Gasping for air he struggled to his feet and stood strong, knowing that despite the sudden change in control, he wasn't out of the running quite yet. "Now I'll set a single card face down, and end my turn." (KLP: 5400)  
  
Kensai started off by drawing a card, and when he did so he also gained the life points from Snatch Steal. To his great delight he discovered exactly what card he had drawn, and it would turn the duel back in his favor. "Prepare for this deadly charge! Swift Knight Gaia(2300500/2100), mow Taichi down!"  
  
The purple clad knight marched down on his horse, and then at Kensai's command he took off across the field at a swift trot, readying his jousting stick to deal serious damage to Taichi. "Black Death isn't the only disease awaiting you. And since you just wandered into leech infested waters, I'd say you're in for a nasty surprise. Activate face down card, Leech Virus!"  
  
Gaia let out a loud bellow at the same time as his horse neighed, and Kensai saw why. Climbing up the horses legs and onto Gaia's armor were red and black leeches, each one pulsing with a strange inner light as they covered the knight and his horse. "What's going on?"  
  
"Leech Virus is a permanent trap that acts as an equip card. It prevents Gaia from attack or changing positions. And of course each turn my virus will leech away some of your knight's power, granting me half of its attack power to my life points each turn." Kensai cursed again, causing Taichi to laugh at him. Already the situation had turned against Kensai, with one of his best monsters trapped and helping Taichi. (KLP: 6400)  
  
As soon as Taichi's turn began, the reason for the leech's inner light was discovered. Globes of red light filtered out of the disgusting creatures and were absorbed into Taichi's body, powering him up for each globe. "Excellent! Now I'll just set one card and end my turn." (TLP: 6400)  
  
Kensai started off his turn by gaining the life pints from Taichi's magic card. However unless the card he drew was a monster he'd be in bad shape. Slowly he turned his eyes down upon the card, and grinned as he did so. "Wandering Hero Freed(1700500/1000)! Appear and help me destroy Taichi by destroying the Spirit of Darkness!"   
  
The blonde warrior was summoned to the field, the green symbol of the seal shining bright upon his forehead, giving him a sinister look. He raised his blade high overhead and then started a charge to reach the Spirit of Darkness. "Apparently you didn't learn your lesson about marching through leech infested warriors the first time around. Reveal trap, Blood Leech!"  
  
From the ground came a huge blood red leech which slammed into his warrior's chest, knocking him backwards. In a swift motion it wrapped around Freed's body, making him too heavy to do any moving. "Now your hero can't attack or change positions, and of course each of my standby phases you lose life points equal to half its base attack. Now you're trapped even worse!" (KLP: 7400)  
  
Taichi drew his next card, and his two cards went into action. Again dozens of globes of red light filtered out of his knight and were absorbed into Taichi's body. Then the massive leech around his hero squeezed tight, causing him to cough up blood. And to Kensai's surprise he discovered that his lip was bleeding. He was reacting with his monster! (TLP: 7800, KLP: 6550)  
  
"Now here's a unique monster for you, a weak demon with the ability to attack directly. Demon Brain(400/300)! He's got another ability, but for the moment I'll just use him to inflict direct damage!" The monster was a brain about the size of a person, except this brain had tendrils with sharp suckers on the ends extending out of it. And using this tendrils it lashed out, striking Kensai across the face and cutting into his skin. He grimaced and wiped the blood off, ignoring the shouts of terror from his companions outside the seal. (KLP: 6150)  
  
Kensai picked up his next card, not really noticing as he regained life points. He would have been gaining life points faster then he was losing them, but now with that Demon Brain attacking him, it was turning around. And Taichi was gaining life points as well! "Graceful Charity."  
  
He picked up the three cards and looked over them, quickly deciding exactly what card he wanted to keep. Now he was about to crush that little brain and deal some serious damage! "I remove one light type and one dark type from my cemetery to special summon Chaos Emperor Dragon-Messenger of the Apocalypse(3000500/2500)!"   
  
Two streams of energy erupted next to him, one of dark and one of light. They quickly merged together and formed in a bright flash the mighty dragon that was the second of his two mightiest monsters. "Nuke that puny little brain!"   
  
His dragon opened its mouth wide and sent out a stream of multi-colored energy which streaked straight towards the brain. But at the last moment the brain latched on to Spirit of Darkness with its tendrils, and the energy missed it, crashing into the barrier. "Remember that other ability I mentioned? Well during my opponent's turn my Demon Brain can union with another demon on the field, and at that time the demon monster its unioned with cannot be the target of an attack. So you can't attack me at all!" (KLP: 7150)  
  
With that out of the way it became Taichi's turn, and once again the leeches on his knight strengthened Taichi, and he lost a little bit more blood from the leech on his Freed. It wasn't enough blood to make him woozy, but it was annoying. (TLP: 9200, KLP: 6300)   
  
"Here we go, Payment of Debt to draw three cards." Taichi picked up his three cards, examined them and casually set two of them down on the field. Then he commanded his Demon Brain to attack, and it did so, this time slashing Kensai's chest and drawing more blood with this sharp suckers. (KLP: 5900)   
  
As he started his turn, Kensai was fully aware that any attack he made would be futile. At this rate it wasn't worth anything to just continue the way they had, because at this pace it would take forever for Taichi to actually drain his life points. No, he had a better way to deal with this. (KLP: 6900)  
  
"Say goodbye to your new combo Taichi. I pay the one thousand life points necessary to activate my dragon's special ability. Apocalyptic Eruption!" His dragon tilted its head up and sent streamers of multi-colored energy shooting above them. The streamers arced back down, crashing into the ground with dreadful force.  
  
"I won't lose like that! Activate Forced Ejection Machine, sending that monster back to your hand!" Kensai blinked in surprise as a machine appeared beneath his dragon, and then shot it straight up, where it vanished, letting him pick it up off his duel disk. That move made no sense at all. Taichi should have known that sending it back to his hand wasn't going to stop its effect. That was an amateur move...so what was Taichi up to?  
  
Smoke filled the air, and when it had all faded the field was clear of monsters, and according to Kensai's math that meant that nine cards had gone to the cemetery from his monster's effect, meaning Taichi would take twenty-seven hundred points of damage. (TLP: 6500, KLP: 5900)  
  
"You know Taichi, you actually helped me just then. Because my dragon is a special summon and I never went into my battle phase, you just gave me a chance to put the hurting on you. So by removing another dark type and another light type, I'll summon it again!" For the second time in that duel his massive dragon rose up, and let out a deafening roar, nearly knocking both duelists off their feet by its sheer force.   
  
"Apocalypse Flame!" His dragon arched its head and then shot it forwards like a striking serpent, sending a wide stream of multi-colored power at Taichi. The beam of lights struck Taichi dead center in the chest and picked him up off his feet, pressing him up against the barrier of the seal. After several seconds of this the energy faded, and Taichi dropped to his feet, his shirt gone and his chest scorched from the deadly energies. (TLP: 3000)  
  
The blue-eyed, dark haired duelist reached towards his duel disk with a shaky hand, his body quivering and nearly dead from the horrible power of Kensai's last attack. A direct attack of such magnitude in the reality that came under the Seal of Orichalcos was apparently more then even Taichi could take, because Kensai knew that Taichi had healed himself of heavy injuries before.   
  
Slowly the dark haired duelist tilted his eyes up to connect with Kensai's, and he started to laugh. The laugh came from deep within his belly and soon built up to something that was almost hysterical. Kensai was certain that Taichi was basically insane...but there was something odd about this laughter. "The end is about to come Taichi, it will soon reach out and grasp hold of you!"  
  
As he spoke these words five spaces in front of him exploded...and giant holographic card forms of the five pieces of Exodia rose up and floating above them, resting over Taichi's head. Was Taichi about to summon Exodia? But how? He had no monsters! "This card will cause your demise! PACT WITH EXODIA!"  
  
Kai let out a deep sigh as he relaxed in the waters, lounging there and cooling off his body. Several feet away, also in the water, Serenity and Drake were either having a very loud discussion, or they were arguing.   
  
After a bit of fast talking on his part, Drake had managed to convince Serenity that he hadn't been spying, a feat which amazed Kai. Of course he realized that all he had to do was blurt out that Drake had indeed been spying and things would go south very fast or Drake. But just sitting here and relaxing was more enjoyable then watching Drake suffer.  
  
Upon careful inspection Kai realized that the two were at the water's edge, and were speaking very loudly about none other then Duel Monsters. Apparently Serenity was getting lessons, and Drake was trying to make sure she knew everything she could about the game. What was odd was the almost manic way that Drake was going about it. It was like he was worried she would end up in a duel for her life and not be able to make it out...  
  
Heck, he was acting like a man using up his last hours and trying to do something important. It wasn't like in an hour or two Drake would be gone. "I'm worrying about nothing. Right now, I just have to relax."  
  
Taichi's laughter continued as five dark beams of energy exploded from the five pieces of Exodia. The darkness collided and a shape began to form, slowly revealing a full-sized Exodia with a few oddities. It was black instead of tan, and a dark aura surrounded it, making it even eerier then ever. "Now you have met Exodia Necros(1800/0)! And with this invincible creature I shall claim victory! End turn!"  
  
Kensai scoffed at this and drew his card, glancing at it briefly before activating it. Upon doing so a giant image of it appeared, revealing a scene from Frankenstein. "The magic card Restore the Dead lets me move one random monster in my cemetery to my hand. And with this play I'll crush you completely! I summon Iron Hans, thereby bringing out Iron Knight!"   
  
The two monsters appeared, the image of the seal shining upon their heads. All he needed was to crush this new creature with Chaos Emperor Dragon and then he'd be free to finish off Taichi's life points. "Chaos Emperor Dragon, Apocalypse Flame! Burn that Exodia fake to cinders!" The blaze of energy consumed the black Exodia, hiding it from sight. Kensai laughed as he saw the energies consume it. (TLP: 1300)  
  
However, when the light faded away it was revealed that Exodia Necros was completely intact, not beaten at all! Yet he had seen Taichi's life points drop, he had seen the blast strike. The creature should be dead! "Idiot! I told you he was invincible, and I meant it. You can't destroy him like that!"   
  
Kensai just smirked, knowing that he had his own method to get rid of this paltry monster. If he couldn't deal with it through battle, he'd just crush it using his dragon's special effect, dropping Taichi down to his lowest level of life points. "Well then let Exodia Necros burn in the fires of my monster's great power! Apocalyptic Eruption!" (KLP: 4900)  
  
For the second time in that duel the dragon tilted its head up and shot out the streams of energy. They crashed down upon every creature there, including the dragon itself. He heard his monsters cry out in pain as they were consumed, and he heard Exodia Necros bellow as well. (TLP: 400)  
  
The warrior duelist blinked at that number, not understanding how it was possible. There had been four cards on the field. His dragon, Iron Hans, Iron Knight, and Exodia Necros. That should have been twelve hundred points of damage, leaving Taichi with just one hundred left. If he still had four hundred then that meant. "HAHAHAHAHAHAHA! Exodia Necros won't be beaten by monster effects either! He literally can't be destroyed!"   
  
And there he was, the mighty form of Exodia Necros towering up above him. He gulped, understanding that he had just foolishly cleared his field of monsters, and he had no magic or trap cards to defend himself with. "I don't care if you can attack me directly, because all I need is a monster with twenty-two hundred attack points to win this duel! Your monster is invincible, but its still weak!"   
  
To his surprise Taichi just laughed at this, and as soon as he started his turn the aura around Exodia Necros grew slightly, and the power meter for it rose as well. But it didn't make sense, how could it be getting stronger? "Weak is it? At the moment perhaps, but during each of my turns it gains five hundred attack points, meaning now its at twenty-three hundred, and you need a monster of twenty-seven hundred or more attack points to beat it!"   
  
He grimaced, and Taichi just laughed again, before casting out his hand and declaring an attack. Exodia Necros raised one fist and thrust it forwards, connecting directly with Kensai's chest, sending him flying backwards. His friends shouted out for him to stay strong, but he ignored them. "Now I'll set a card down to finish off my turn." (KLP: 2600)  
  
Taking a deep breath Kensai drew a card and looked down at it. Then he broke out laughing, a cold and victorious look on his face. "Twenty-seven hundred or higher you said? Well how about thirty-five hundred? Rise up, Chaos Soldier-Messenger of Creation(3000500/2500)!" The ground exploded with dark and light energies colliding together all over the field, slowly coalescing into the mighty black and gold armored warrior that was Kensai's favorite monster.   
  
"With this one attack I will rid the world of your horror, and you can't escape it. Want to know why? Well that's because when you lose a duel under the influence of the Seal of Orichalcos...you lose your soul! And with no soul you won't be able to do anything at all! Now for the final blow, Chaos Blade!"   
  
His soldier met a horizontal sweep with his blade, sending a ribbon of golden power streaking across the ground towards the weaker Exodia Necros. Kensai's grin followed that ribbon of power each inch of the way, all the way until it collided with a wall of...something dark and moving rapidly. "Dark Wall of Air prevents me from being attacked by monsters this turn! A wasted effort!"   
  
As soon as Taichi took his turn, Exodia Necros' aura expanded again, raising its power to a more impressive twenty-eight hundred. But it was still too weak to match up to the Chaos Soldier, whose enormous power was boosted by the darkness of the Seal of Orichalcos. "Pot of Greed."  
  
Taichi examined his two new cards, and then casually placed them on the field, grinning as they appeared in front of him in holo form. Knowing that he had nothing else to do in this turn, he declared the end, and watched as Kensai drew his card. Now it was time for Kensai to make his decision.   
  
'If I attack, I could conceivably defeat Taichi here and now. But those two face down cards are almost definitely traps. I could use my soldier's removal effect, but who knows if that even works on his Necros. And of course that won't get me past his traps.' Thoughts like these filled his head as he warred with himself on whether or not to attack, realizing that this could be a crucial moment.   
  
"What are you waiting for Ken? Don't tell me you're afraid of my weaker Necros! How absolutely pathetic. I thought you were a strong person because of how willing you were to challenge me knowing how I had crushed every other duelist I've faced. But now you back down? How laughable!" And of course he tossed his head back and laughed maniacally. Mai and the others outside the seal shouted to Kensai, praying that he wouldn't fall for such an obvious mind game. He couldn't possibly be that stupid.  
  
"Back down? Me? Not a snowball's chance in Hell! Chaos Soldier, slice and dice Exodia Necros like it was a Thanksgiving Turkey!" His soldier gave him a quick nod and then slashed its sword twice in the air, sending an x-shaped golden energy beam at the weaker Exodia Necros. Outside the seal the others groaned in agony, and Taichi laughed his head off.   
  
"Reveal face down cards, Time Jump and Cracked Hatchet! Cracked Hatchet reduces one monster on the field by five hundred attack points times the number of turns its been set...and Time Jump accelerates time by three turns, dropping your soldier by fifteen hundred and raising Necros by the same amount!" The now even mightier Exodia Necros batted the golden beam aside and then swung with its other fist, crushing Chaos Soldier in a single blow, shattering him and most of Kensai's life points.   
  
"Shit. I should have known. I'll place one card onto the field and declare my turn's end!" The card materialized, leaving that as his only defense between him and the mighty Exodia Necros. There was absolutely nothing else to stop Taichi from rampaging all over the last of his remaining life points. (KLP: 300)  
  
Taichi grabbed the next card off his deck and laughed evilly, a wide smirk spreading across his face as Exodia Necros reached a level of forty-eight hundred attack points, far higher then anything Kensai could bring out of his deck. "Exodia Necros, attack him directly and end this foolishness!"  
  
The giant black destroyer swung a punch at the weakened warrior duelist, who quickly pressed the button on his duel disk for activating a card. At that moment his face down card flipped up, and Necros' attack was stopped. "Weakening of Attack stops your attack and ends your battle phase. You done?"  
  
Taichi just grinned and played a card into one of his magic zones, which appeared as a giant fat demon sucking up everything in his path, including a village below him. "The magic card Evil Absorption increases my life points by half the amount of life points you've lost in this duel. Since total you've lost twelve thousand and seven hundred life points...I gain quite a few!" A massive aura of light sprung up around Taichi, raising his energy levels by a great deal and healing him slightly. (TLP: 6750)  
  
Kensai quickly grabbed his next card, and then grinned right back at Taichi. "Payment of Debt!" After seeing Taichi use the card he had seen its useful and put it in his new assembled deck, knowing how helpful it could be. So now he drew three cards, and understood exactly what he had to do.   
  
"Monster Reborn! Revive my Chaos Soldier!" The armored warrior was revived onto the field, and swung his sword in several lazy arcs as he prepared to do whatever Kensai wanted of him. And what Kensai wanted was to get rid of Taichi's irritating Necros once and fo all!  
  
"Banish Exodia Necros!" His soldier raised its blade and fired out a jet of light that headed straight for Necros. However at the last moment the giant creature swept the jet of light aside, letting it collide harmlessly with the edge of the barrier. Kensai moaned, realizing that Necros was also immune to being removed from the game. He should have known.   
  
"I'll place two more cards face down. That's all I can do for now." His two cards appeared, ready to defend his soldier from an attack. Hopefully they would be enough, but he just wasn't sure at all. If Taichi found a way around them...then it was all over.   
  
Taichi drew his next card and smirked, not even bothering to really look at his card. He raised one arm and declared an attack, sending Necros into a frenzy of punches that would crush his monster. "Mirror Force Activate!" The barrier rose up, blocking the attack but failing to destroy Exodia Necros. However, all Kensai had really needed was the attack negation effect of Mirror Force. He knew it wouldn't destroy the massive creature.   
  
"Very well, if that won't do...then how about this? Leech Seed!" To Kensai's horror a small leech was shot out of the card at high speed, colliding with his soldier and gripping tight onto its armor. For several seconds it stayed there, and then his soldier let out a cry of agony as his energy was stolen. As Taichi's life points rose again, Kensai counted the amount and understood that Leech Seed had increased Taichi's life points by half his monster's attack strength. (TLP: 8500)  
  
Kensai took a very deep breath and drew his next card, grimacing when all he saw was a measly monster. This wouldn't help him much at all. "I'll move Chaos Soldier to defense, and summon Queen's Knight(1500500/1600), also in defense mode. That's all I can manage." His queen appeared, hefting her shield in front of her as she crouched there, ready to defend herself. Chaos Soldier dropped to one knee and lifted his shield up in front of himself, keeping himself defended.   
  
His enemy drw a card, and Exodia Necros' aura expanded a little bit more, pumping it up to a ridiculous level of fifty-eight hundred attack strength. "Crush his Chaos Soldier!" Necros put both fists together and then slammed them down on his soldier with all its might, crushing the chaos warrior instantly. But Kensai wasn't done yet.   
  
"I chain with the trap card, Thanks To The Hero! When one of my warriors is destroyed in battle I can special summon another warrior from my cemetery in attack mode. So I'll revive Iron Hans, thereby special summoning Iron Knight!" The two monsters rose up on the field for what seemed like the twentieth time in that duel, giving him a total of three monsters to defense himself with. It wasn't much, but it would help.   
  
Taichi just shrugged and declared the end of his turn, letting Kensai draw his next card. He forced himself not to curse violently when all he saw was a monster. But then again, he couldn't think of a single card in his deck that could save him. The situation was becoming hopeless. "Marauding Captain in defense mode."   
  
The warrior appeared, crouching next to Iron Knight. The captain cast a scornful glance at the weaker monster, but then cast its gaze away when it noticed the towering form of Exodia Necros, which made them all seem puny. "I'll switch Iron Hans and Iron Knight into defense mode as well." Letting out his breath he passed his turn to Taichi, knowing that the end was fast approaching. Taichi had been right, Exodia Necros had just been too much for him.   
  
Taichi picked up another card and added it to his hand. At the same time Exodia Necros was bumped up another level to sixty-three hundred, more useless power unless Taichi was able to get past his defense wall of monsters. "Ken, that card I drew last turn...the reason I didn't use it...well it requires me to have other cards in my hand. That and it requires me to give up my battle phase in the turn that I use it in. So I'll discard my other card and give up my battle phase as the activation cost of Explosive Reaction!"  
  
Kensai gulped as the ground beneath his monsters began to bubble and boil. He didn't know what Taichi's card did, but with a name like Explosive Reaction it was bound to be something bad. "Want to know what happens next? You do? Good! Now all cards on your field are obliterated!"   
  
He jumped backwards just in time as the ground beneath his four warriors exploded with deadly force, burning them to cinders instantly. The heat from it was scorching his skin, but at least he was still alive, at least for one turn more. There was not telling what would happen next turn. "Now that we've gotten your defenses out of the way....I'll just end my turn since I can't attack."  
  
He could hear the cheers of his friends on the outside, could hear the pounding of the seal against his head. He could hear the voice of his master deep within his mind, calling out to him about victory and defeat. It was a lesson he had to learn....but what had he said? "Quite dawdling Kenny, you only have about five or so more cards in your deck and its your turn. So draw and lets get this over with! I have other people to kill you know."  
  
What had his master told him? What was the lesson? He had said...yes that was it! His master had said it after his last tournament, when he had lost the final round to a fighter with several years more experience. His master had told him that the very last lesson of a warrior was the lesson learned when the warrior found himself in a situation where victory was impossible and defeat too dangerous.   
  
He had been told that at a moment when a warrior found himself in such a situation, that it was at that moment that the true heart of that warrior was determined. Would he be crushed beneath the pressure, or would he discover the true meaning of his life and find a new path.   
  
Slowly he whispered to himself, coming to understand exactly what his master had been talking about. For this was such a situation. "There isn't a single card left in my deck that can get me victory, so that's impossible. And if I lose then too many others will suffer, and I can't let that happen. But what is the alternate path?"  
  
The true question he had to ask himself...was what meaning did his life have? Could he actually accomplish anything? Was he a worthwhile person who could change the course of history, or even of another person's life? This was his moment to learn the truth, his moment to discover what sort of person he truly was. This was the moment where his true warrior's heart would be determined.   
  
"I am Takuya Shinomori! I am a warrior, and my true heart tells me exactly what I need to do to take that alternate path. Taichi Nobuki, in this moment I cannot defeat you, but I cannot afford to lose either. Therefore I will draw my card, and I will determine the truth!" He pulled the card free with great force, watching Taichi's face as he did so.   
  
Taichi obviously didn't seem to care what he drew, because Kensai had just admitted that there was no way to win. The rest of what he had said was all useless babble to Taichi, it had no meaning. "I'll place one card face down, and that will be all!"  
  
Taichi smirked, drawing his card and grinning as Exodia Necros jumped to sixty-eight hundred attack points, higher then any monster really needed to be. But that didn't matter, the more power it had the better. Kensai had already admitted he would lose, so now was the moment to finish him off. "It's all over little Kenny. I've won! How pathetic of you to actually think that you could defeat me! Fool!"  
  
At that moment Kensai's face down card flipped up, and the moment Taichi saw what it was his eyes widened as far as they could go and he mouthed incoherent words of despair. But none of that mattered to Kensai. He had discovered exactly what his life meant, and he had discovered the alternate path. He had finally become a true warrior. "Are you ready for it to end Taichi? All I have to do is press this button and Self-Destruct Switch will destroy us both."  
  
"Idiot! What do you think you're doing? If you do that we'll both be consumed by the explosion! You won't survive the blast and neither will I! We'll both be headed straight to Hell because of your idiocy!" Kensai could only smile a quiet smile, knowing exactly what it all meant. It didn't matter, because he had determined the truth.  
  
"Then I'll be sure to knit you a nice handbasket for your trip. Goodbye Taichi. And...goodbye everyone. Father, mother, master....everyone. Goodbye. I wish you all well, because this is for you. This is what my life means. My life means that others can live, that is what it means. So one last time I say it. Goodbye." And then he pressed the button.  
  
The nuclear energy stored within the card were unleashed with that single touch, and both duelists were vaporized in under a second, the blast only contained by the power of the seal, protecting those outside from being consumed as well. In that brief second, Kensai could have sworn he had seen Taichi smile....  
  
Far away from the nuclear fires that had consumed two strong duelists, Hiyazaku and his three soldiers stalked through the desert, intent on finding their way out of this strange place and finding Dartz. Once they did Hiyazaku would challenge Dartz, claim victory, and then he would be the true ruler of Atlantis!   
  
The four of them stopped as they discovered someone standing just ahead of them, shadowed a bit by the darkness. Hiyazaku reached out with his Seer powers to try and learn something of this new mystery figure...but to his surprise his powers didn't touch this stranger. "Who are you and what do you want?"  
  
The figure approached and was revealed. Whoever he was he didn't look very threatening at all. He couldn't do anything to them...he just happened to be untouchable by magic....that must be it. "What do I want? Well its been a long time since I've just hurt things....so I guess its time again."  
  
Hiyazaku never saw it coming. Red flashed in front of his eyes as the knife was buried into his stomach, and with a twist and pull it was wrenched free. As he fell, blood clouding his vision, he saw the stranger dart in and out of his soldiers, cutting them down with a great savagery. "Who...who are you?"  
  
The insane smile was the last thing he saw as his life faded away, and the last thing he heard was the answer to his final question. "I'm the one the Devil fears."  
  
Mai and the others sat there, just staring at the scorched earth where Kensai had stood just twenty minutes earlier. So far they had been unable to move from that spot, feeling so down and out that they couldn't do anything at all. He had given his life to defeat Taichi...he was gone for good. There was no way to get him back.   
  
"What's with all the long faces?" Autumn was the first to look around and spot the young man approaching them. He was young, just around fifteen or sixteen, and he was slightly shorter then six feet. He wore blue jeans and a black t-shirt with an image of a Blue Eyes White Dragon on it. His hair was blonde and was spiked into small locks that fell against the side of his head.  
  
Hinata bit back a sniffle and briefly offered an explanation, a simple thing. "A friend of ours...he just died." The stranger looked abashed at bringing up the subject, but before he could apologize they all heard something like thunder.   
  
Each of them turned to look in the direction of the thunder...and to their surprise they discovered a herd of various duel monsters charging towards them. It was a stampede! The stranger yelped and immediately took charge, ushering them towards the horses. It was a tight fit but they all made it on the two horses, and then they were off through the woods, racing away from the spot of Kensai's death.  
  
"Sorry about that back there, didn't mean to take charge like that. I'm Kevin Hunter, and who might all of you be?" And with that a new face had joined the group, but he could not replace Kensai. What part Kevin would play in the future was yet to be determined, but Autumn had this funny feeling that in the end he would play some kind of big role.  
  
Author's Notes: Bet that was a big surprise for you all. And Edgar, there ya go, Kevin Hunter is here. Also, Exodia Necros in the actual game can be removed from the game and is able to be destroyed by monster effects.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Taichi: Defense Wall, Treasure of Hell, Shadow Demon, Remnant, Amass Defense, Black Death, Renew the Body, Genocide Bomb(used by Kensai), Spirit of Darkness(also used by Kensai), Leech Virus, Blood Leech, Demon Brain, Payment of Debt, Evil Absorption, Leech Seed, Explosive Reaction  
  
Kensai: Shield Cleaver(submitted to me by G.O.T. Nick), Jack Of All Trades, Pot of Thieves, Restore the Dead, Payment of Debt, Thanks To The Hero  
  
Other cards: Time Jump & Cracked Hatchet(used by Little Yugi against Yami), Taunt(from the newest Japanese set, Soul of Duelist), Iron Hans & Iron Knight(used by Leon in KC Grand Prix Arc), Dark Wall of Air(Malik in Battle City arc against Joey)  
  
Card Clarification: Weakening of Attack, which I've used more then once, is actually Negate Attack. In the Japanese anime Negate Attack is a quick-play magic card, just like Skull Dice is. I chose to make a differentiation by separating the cards and using the name translation for Negate Attack that Janime uses. See, there ya go. 


	27. Union Riders Fear of the Ultimate Deck!

Disclaimer: No ownage of Yugioh in this fic, all I've got are most of the original characters except for a few.   
  
Author's Note: To any fans of Seto Kaiba...sucks to be you! Err, never mind, ignore that. Now on to the chapter!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "In the attitude of silence the soul finds the path in an clearer light, and what is elusive and deceptive resolves itself into crystal clearness. Our life is a long and arduous quest after Truth." -Mahatma Gandhi  
  
Chapter Twenty-Six: Union Riders; Fear of the Ultimate Deck!  
  
There was laughter in the air, time to spend and a relaxed nature to spend it on. That and the water was fun to mess around in, splashing about and having a generally goofy time. It was in fact the first time that Drake had relaxed in...well since just after Kirani's duel with Taichi. Amazing that the duel had taken place not even twenty-four hours earlier.   
  
Pulling back from the brief water fight he leaned back against a rock and put his hands behind his head, contemplating. Kai was about five feet away, floating lazily on his back, staring up at the sky. Either that or he was asleep, Drake couldn't see the other duelist's eyes so he couldn't be sure.   
  
"Penny for your thoughts?" Drake blinked and dropped his eyes to the figure approaching him. Serenity swam her way over, which of course wasn't necessary in water that was about four feet deep, and then leaned up against the rock, right next to him. He gave her a brief smile, and then continued to stare up at the sky, lost in his own thoughts.   
  
"I was thinking about today. Its amazing that all of these things, Shadi, Kirani, Hinata...Taichi. All of it has happened in under a day. I'm not even sure if its still the same day actually. But all of these things, the very fate of the world....its all being determined in a day's time. Doesn't that seem a bit odd to you?"   
  
She shrugged and brushed a lock of brunette hair from in front of her eyes. He watched her stare into her reflection in the water, a troubled look on her face. Then just as quickly as the look had appeared, it vanished and she looked back up at him. "I guess so, but think about this. Which is odder, the fate of the world being determined in one day, or the fate of the world being determined by a card game?"   
  
With this said he burst out laughing, he just couldn't help it. She joined in with his laughter, the water soaking up their worries as they lounged beneath the sun. It was true, he hadn't really thought about it before. "You're right Serenity, the fate of the world being determined by a card game is absolutely ridiculous. But then again, I always thought that Armageddon would come from a giant meteor or maybe nuclear war...not for a fifteen year old kid inhabited by some ancient evil demon-thingy that's millions of years old."  
  
Serenity was the first of the two of them to laugh this time, and he joined her. To his surprise she splashed him with water, and soon the two of them were having a water fight again. As the water fight moved, Kai got caught up and joined into the fray, splashing water back and forth between the two of them. It was a three way war.   
  
Little did they know that they were being watched. Two dark figures stood where Drake and Kai had stood not long before, using the bushes and shade to watch their prey. Soon would be the time to strike. Soon everything would happen.   
  
A great distance away were the other watchers. They watched through magic, enjoying the show along with the dozens if not hundreds of duels that were going on throughout this place. One of the watching figures stood at the base of the steps to a massive Greek styled temple. The other lounged in a chair, secluded in the shadows under a pillar.   
  
They were distracted by the powerful wing beats of something very large. As they watched the giant white beast that was the Blue Eyes descended, and one brown haired Seto Kaiba jumped from its neck. "Where's Mokuba?"  
  
The one lounging in a chair motioned with a flick of the wrist, and four cloaked men marched out to impede Kaiba's way. Based on the symbol at the top of their hood, Kaiba recognized them as Rare Hunters, and he saw Malik waiting. As much as he didn't understand Malik's presence as he had seen the man incinerated, he didn't care.   
  
Malik sneered, his veins pulsing as he began commanding the hunters. "The four of you will dispatch Seto Kaiba. Of course if he defeats the four of you he will have gained the ten straight victories he needs to become the first to make the challenge. Should you win the challenged duel, you will be released."   
  
Kaiba sneered and activated his duel disk, followed closely by the four men who lined up in front of him in attacking positions. Each of them drew their opening hands, and the game was on. "Let's get one thing straight. If I win the challenged duel then not only will I be released, but Mokuba will be as well. Is that understood?"  
  
Malik laughed at this, his sickeningly annoying laugh, veins bulging as his eyes twitched. "You're in no position to make demands Seto Kaiba. We will consider this proposition, but for the moment you have a duel to attend to. To even things up, you'll have a deck master, they won't."  
  
Kaiba nodded and selected his deck master. To all the Rare Hunters' surprise his deck master rose up and up and up....revealing the three headed monstrosity that was the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon(4500/3800). With that the first Rare Hunter drew his sixth card. "I'll set two cards face down and summon Getsu Fuma(1700/1000)."   
  
The red armored warrior appeared and drew his shining blade, holding it at the ready. The next duelist drew his card and surveyed his hand, before going into motion. "I'll play Manju of the 10000 Hands, which lets me search for a ritual card. Now I'll use that ritual card, sacrificing Manju and a level four monster from my hand to summon Zorc(2700/2000)! Then I shall set one card down and end my turn."   
  
His partner grinned beneath his hood and declared the activation of one of his face down cards. It was revealed as Needle Wall, and Kaiba's monster zones were suddenly numbered, one through five. During the standby phase a die would be rolled, and the monster on the zone with that number would be destroyed, a six was re roll. "Summon Roulette Barrel(1000/2000) in defense and set two cards!"   
  
A massive machine monster appeared in front of the third Rare Hunter, and the second one took this as his opportunity to activate his own Needle Wall, increasing the chances that Kaiba's monsters would get trashed. Now the fourth one drew, followed by the activation of the third one's Needle Wall. "I'll set two cards and one monster. That's all."  
  
Kaiba sneered at this and drew his sixth card, before declaring what his move was going to be. Of course the fourth one also activated a Needle Wall, completing the set. "You four are truly idiots. Barely even qualify as flunkies. All your efforts are nothing to me. Go Heavy Storm and Dark Hole!"   
  
Despite all their intense efforts everything that they had done was just undone, clearing their fields completely of any cards that could help them out. There was nothing to protect them now from Kaiba's rampage. "I'll move my deck master onto the field, and activate its deck master effect, paying half my life points to special summon the three Blue Eyes White Dragons(3000/2500 X3)!" The massive three headed beast was joined by its fusion components, who all roared at the Rare Hunters, cowing them. (KLP: 2000)  
  
"Now I'll discard one Thunder Dragon to place two more in my hand, and I activate Polymerization to fuse them together into Twin-Headed Thunder Dragon(2800/2100)! Now my monsters will unleash the ultimate assault on your various life points!" The dragons attacked, blasting apart his opponent's with dreadful ease. One was defeated by the Ultimate Dragon, another by a double attack from the thunder dragon and a Blue Eyes. The other two were dropped to a measly level of life points. (R3LP: 1000, R4LP: 1000)  
  
Kaiba then set two cards face down, emptying his hand and passing the turn on to the third of the Rare Hunters, who eagerly drew his card. Upon drawing he recognized the face of Man-Eater Bug, which was the perfect monster for this situation. "I'll set one monster and end my turn." Using the hidden communicator in his hood he directed his partner to flip his monster with an attack.  
  
"I'll summon Baron of the Fiend Sword(1550/1100) and have it attack my partner's set monster!" Kaiba just smirked and activated one of his face down cards, having expected something like this. The two Rare Hunters gasped as Ceasefire flipped up, flipping the Man-Eater Bug without an effect. It was then cut down by the baron. "Set one card and end!" (R3LP: 500)  
  
Kaiba drew a card and glanced up at the field, knowing exactly what he was going to do. At the same time the fourth of the Rare Hunters was hiding a smirk, knowing that the instant Kaiba attacked it would be the end for him, because the ultimate dragon would be destroyed by his Mirror Force. "I declare an attack with all of my monsters!"  
  
As the various monsters launched their attacks, the fourth Rare Hunter flipped up his Mirror Force, both of them cackling as the attacks collided with the barrier. "I figured you had something like that planned, so I had Trap Jammer ready and waiting. By discarding one card I can negate your trap since it was activated during the battle phase!"   
  
The two remaining Rare Hunters let out cries of terror as the supreme attacks ripped into them, draining them of their last life points and causing their defeat. As this occurred all four of them had their souls stripped away, leaving them as helpless shells. "Now I declare a challenge on you!"   
  
Malik laughed it off, and Kaiba heard faint clapping. Turning his head up he watched the figure descend down from the steps, clapping as they did so. When Kaiba recognized the person he sneered in disgust. "I wasn't expecting you. Are you the one my challenge is against?"  
  
"That's right Kaiba, and you'll regret it. In fact, I'm so confidant in my skills and the power of my ultimate deck that I swear that if I don't win in four turns I'll automatically forfeit the duel!" Even Kaiba couldn't help but gasp at the sheer audacity of this statement. The mere thought that someone could defeat him in four turns or less was ludicrous!   
  
"Very well, now select your deck master and lets get this under way!" Once again he selected the Ultimate Dragon which rose up behind him, but his opponent's deck master was fairly puny looking, and he laughed at seeing it. Whatever it was, it probably didn't have much of an effect.   
  
"I'll go first, playing Zone Expansion. Then I'll use my deck master's effect, special summoning the three Blue Eyes! Next I'll summon Lord of Dragons and play Flute of Summoning Dragons to special summon Hyonzaru and Kaiser Glider to the field. Finally I shall play Anti-Magic Viral Cannon!"   
  
The massive combo was completed, the three white dragons roaring in triumph as they dominated the field. Next to them was the diamond dragon and the golden dragon, followed by the weaker Lord of Dragons in his dragon armor. Finally his opponent got rid of ten magic cards, according to his virus's effect. (KLP: 4000)  
  
"Now Kaiba, about what I said earlier. I was wrong. It will only take me one turn to defeat you, and to prove it I'll activate Inferno Tempest! This card forces us to remove all monsters in our hands, decks, and cemeteries from the game!" Kaiba grimaced, realizing that he had just lost a number of good monsters, in fact now his only monsters were those on the field. But they would be enough, as his opponent had no monsters at all.  
  
"How do you expect to win without any monsters?" His opponent chuckled, and with a wave of the hand the puny deck master moved onto the field, making it his enemy's only monster. Whatever it could do, it wouldn't be enough to defeat him, not at all.  
  
"Now I'll activate my deck master's effect, allowing it to become a new and improved monster, with a very special effect!" He watched in confusion and then horror as the new monster appeared in all its fantastic glory, and he watched as its attack power rose through the roof, greater then anything he had ever experienced. It was beyond anything he had ever imagined!  
  
"Say goodbye Kaiba! END IT MY MONSTER! ATTACK AND DESTROY THE BLUE EYES WHITE DRAGON AND ALL OF KAIBA'S LIFE POINTS!" A huge beam of energy exploded forth from his opponent's new creature and engulfed not just his white dragon...but all of his dragons. He barely had time to apologize to his brother before the blast consumed him as well.   
  
"Fear my power world! Fear the power of the ultimate deck that can even defeat the mighty Seto Kaiba in one turn!" And two strings of evil laughter echoed throughout the land, casting all in a dark shadow. Nothing was the same, no power could possibly stand against this deck with such a great amount of power. It was invincible!  
  
The three now lay there, basking in the glow of the sun, soaking up its warmth through the cool water around them. Everything was perfect for that moment. There was absolutely nothing that could shatter the moment.   
  
Drake blinked as a shadow fell over his face, blocking out the warmth of the sun. He picked himself up, dropping his feet to the sand at the bottom of the water and found himself looking up at two men in simple brown robes. "Hey there. You here to get some water?"  
  
The first of them grinned, pulling back his hood to reveal a handsome face, brown hair in a buzz cut, and brown eyes. The second one followed suit, revealing an identical face. Twins then. The first one spoke up. "Actually we came here because we are seeking duels. The ten straight victories and all that. We wish to make a challenge to one Kai Kaethen and Serenity Wheeler."   
  
The two of them glanced at each other in surprise, and then turned back to the two twin duelists. This was hardly what they had been expecting. "Us? Why us?" The two duelists laughed at this and activated their disks.   
  
"Because we already know every card in Daisuke Ihachi's deck, therefore he would be no challenge to us. You two are more of a mystery to us." Upon hearing himself declared as no challenge Drake stood to his full height and stepped out of the water, only in shorts. Kai followed suit, also only in shorts. Serenity stayed in the water, down beneath her shoulders, keeping herself out of their view.   
  
"Listen up! I refuse to allow you to duel Serenity. She isn't ready for a duel of such a caliber. I'll take her place, and if you want a challenge I'll alter the cards in my deck to give you challenge. Two on one, me and Kai versus you two. Up at the top of the waterfall in fifteen minutes so we can get ready. Agreed?"   
  
The twins nodded in acceptance and marched off, obviously heading towards the top of the waterfall. He and Kai started preparing themselves, drying off and getting dressed. Once they were ready in that way both of them prepared their decks, assembling in the way they had before. After ten minutes they were ready. "Me and you. Ready Kai?"  
  
His partner nodded, activating his DD2, and started up towards the top of the waterfall. He thought this was just a normal duel, but Drake knew the truth. There was more to this then just getting ten straight victories. He would have to accomplish what he needed to, but he couldn't make it look bad. "Drake...you don't have to keep protecting me. I think I'm ready for a challenge like this."  
  
Drake turned back to Serenity, who stood there, still dripping a bit because she hadn't fully dried. He shook away bad thoughts and grabbed his jacket, tossing it to her. She caught it with one hand and looked down at it questioningly. "I'm not protecting you because I think you're weak. I'm protecting you because I feel I should. This is a duel that needs to happen, and I need to do this."  
  
"Then...what's the jacket for?" He grinned as she held it at arms length, obviously unsure of what to do with it. He pantomimed putting the jacket on, and she followed suit, sliding it over her arms. It fell into place, looking slightly like a dress on her since it was much to big.   
  
"For keep warm. I'm heading up, wanna come?" She gave him a bright smile and followed him up, joining Kai and the twins at the top of the waterfall. Shortly the duel would begin, but first some formalities needed to get out of the way. Like...their opponent's names.   
  
"Mind introducing yourselves so you aren't just unnamed duelists that we have to crush?" The twins laughed, twin smiles etched on their features. Yes, they were definitely true duelists, not minding the pointless threats and comments. This was what duelists did, this was how it worked.   
  
The first one pointed to himself with his thumb, and then next at his brother with his thumb, declaring their names as he did so. "I'm Uni and that lug is my twin brother Onn. And to do this double duel we'll rotate, starting with you, then me, then Kai, and finally Onn. Agreed?" Drake and Kai caught each other's eyes and then gave silent ascent, agreeing to the terms. The duel was on! (DLP: 8000, ULP: 8000, KLP: 8000, OLP: 8000)  
  
Drake, being fist, was the first to declare what his deck master would be. And as he did so the monster appeared behind him, a woman with purple hair in a ponytail with a magic staff held in front of her. "My deck master is Magician of Faith! Her magic will aid me greatly in this duel!"  
  
Uni selected a card and held it up, revealing his monster for all to see. It formed behind him, a cyborg riding on top of a giant black dragon. Drake grimaced as he recognized the card. "My deck master is Union Rider!"  
  
Kai selected his deck master as his favorite monster, Breaker the Magic Warrior who formed in all his red and gold armored glory. Next Onn chose his deck master, revealing Union Rider #2, a monster identical to Union Rider except it was a white dragon being ridden. Now that the deck master's were set, it was time for Drake to take his turn.  
  
He drew his opening hand and a sixth card, watching as the others drew their opening hands as well. He surveyed the hand and realized that this turn he wouldn't be able to summon. He'd just have to hope for something next turn when attacking was allowed. "I'll place three cards. Your turn Uni." The three cards shimmered into view right in front of his feet and his turn ended.  
  
"I'll play Pitch Dark Dragon(900/900) in defense mode, and set up one card. End turn." His dragon, identical to the black dragon that the Union Rider was on, appeared crouching with its wings folded around it. Then a card appeared behind it and Uni's turn was over.   
  
Kai picked up his card and immediately went into action. It was time to show them the true power of his favorite monster. "I'll discard one card from my hand to activate my deck master's effect. Breaker Blade!" He dumped a card into the cemetery and his deck master raised his blade, then swung it down. A streak of red light shot from the tip of the sword and speared into Uni's face down card, obliterating it.   
  
"Next I'll summon Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700) and use Emblem of Dragon Destroyer to put Buster Blader into my hand as well as putting a magic counter on my magician. Finally I'll set two cards to finish off my turn." The black robed mage held his staff to the side, smiling slightly as the orb on his right shoulder started to glow, signaling the first counter had appeared. Kai then searched through his deck and placed the named card into his hand before two holographic cards appeared in front of him.  
  
Onn drew a card and then selected the cards he wanted to use, grinning as he played them. "First I'll set two cards face down. Now I summon Giant Orc(2200/0)!" The massive green skinned and muscular creature appeared, wielding a huge curved sword. With this newest monster, along with Pitch Dark Dragon and the Union Riders, Drake's fears were confirmed. Union Decks....  
  
"Now I'll equip Blood Lust to my orc, doubling his attack strength! Of course each turn I'll have to sacrifice a monster to sate his lust and pay the upkeep of Blood Lust, but its worth it for a monster nearly as strong as the Blue Eyes Ultimate Dragon!" The orc let out a roar from deep within his belly, and he began to drool with a great hunger. Suddenly his muscles increased in size, and so did his already great power.   
  
Drake flipped a card off the top of his deck, not even noticing as the deck holder slid down to compensate for his slightly reduced deck. Technology was a wonderful thing. He held back a grimace as he realized that he still couldn't summon a monster, however he could do damage. "Tremendous Fire on Uni!"   
  
A burst of flame exploded from his card, nearly scorching Uni. The duelist yelped and swatted at the flames with his robes, hoping to put it out. Luckily for him it vanished quickly, but the damage was done. "Now I'll use my deck master's effect, discarding a card from the top of my deck to put a magic card in my cemetery back into my hand! And I'll use Tremendous Fire again to blast Onn!"   
  
This time it was Onn who got struck by the flames, performing a similar action as his twin had. Despite the impressive damage that came from using Tremendous Fire, there was a problem with the card. The fires weren't perfectly controlled, and therefore he also recieved damage. (DLP: 7000, ULP: 7000, OLP: 7000)  
  
Uni smiled, excited by the prospect of new cards from Drake, and a potential challenge out of the two duelists. He and his brother, when dueling together, had never had a true challenge. Maybe this would be the duel to bring them to their limits. "I'll sacrifice Pitch Dark Dragon to set a monster in defense mode. I'll set a card and then play Double Spell, discarding a magic card to copy Tremendous Fire to use on Drake! Lastly I'll use Illegality on Kai's deck master, preventing it from using its effect!" (DLP: 6000, ULP: 6500)  
  
Kai blinked, surprised at what he had seen. Already he was in the lead, thought not by any work on his part, and already his deck master's effect was locked. And it had happened so quickly as well. "I'll sacrifice Skilled Dark Magician and his counters to special summon Dark Magician(2500/2100) from my deck!" The purple robed magic user charged onto the field and cast his wand around in joy of beings summoned.   
  
"Now I'll summon my strongest monster by playing Polymerization to fuse the Dark Magician with the Buster Blader I put in my hand, so rise up Dark Paladin(3400/2600)!" The two named monsters jumped into the swirling vortex and fused together, jumping back out as the long-haired sword wielding magician known as Dark Paladin, who cut through the air several times, generating flashy sparks as he did so.   
  
"My next move is to activate my placed Dust Tornado to destroy Illegality!" His card flipped up, and a whirlwind erupted from it, picking up sand and minute particles as it went, becoming black from the dust. It zoomed towards the face-up magic card, but at the last moment it stalled. "What's going on?"  
  
Onn grinned and shook a finger at Kai, motioning to one of his cards which was now flipping up. It showed a man holding up a direction sign in the wrong direction, and the car following it was going off a cliff. "What's going on? Misdirection that's what. Or rather, the trap card Misdirection which lets me change the target of a magic or trap card with the effect 'destroy one or more magic or trap cards on the field.' So Dust Tornado is now headed straight for your other face down card!"  
  
Kai grimaced as man in orange appeared out of the card, and using his sign directed the tornado back towards Kai's remaining face down. It crashed into it, ripping it apart. Now his Soul Spell was no more, and it was a useful card at that. "Very well, I'll place one card face down, and declare an attack on Uni's defense monster!"   
  
His paladin chanted a brief spell, infusing its blade with ancient magical energies. Then it swept the blade in a wide arc, sending a streaking slash of powerful magic straight at the face down monster. Uni chuckled and flipped up one of his face down cards, a card that Kai recognized as being called Redirection. "Redirection changes the target of your attack to a different player, which happens to be your partner's open field!"  
  
The arc of energy swerved in mid-air, heading straight towards Drake. Worse yet, there was nothing Kai could do to stop the attack from connecting, so he had to hope Drake had some way out of this. "I'll activate Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Blood Lust." Kai did a prat fall as Drake's face down card flipped up, and blasted away Blood Lust with a bolt of lightning, dropping Giant Orc back down to twenty-two hundred.  
  
Onn threw back his head and roared with laughter, Uni followed suit shortly after as they watched the blade of energy streak towards the still defenseless Drake. And Drake was still calm, despite the fact that his only move was to destroy Blood Lust. Kai turned to his partner and started yelling. "What use is that right now? You're about to take thirty-four hundred points of damage!"  
  
Drake quirked an eyebrow at him, and then calmly smirked as he brought his hand up to his duel disk and pressed an activation button. The card that had been right next to his Mystical Space Typhoon was revealed, and Kai took the time to smirk with Drake. "My partner wondered why I used that magic card, and here's why. Attack Drawing Armor! And I'm selecting the now weakened Giant Orc!"  
  
Onn and Uni gasped as the energy attack swerved away for the second time this turn, now headed towards the demonic orc. And since it was back to its base attack strength it was no match for the powered up Dark Paladin. "I won't lose that way! Reveal trap card, Breaking Point!"   
  
Onn's trap flipped up, and Kai grimaced when he saw it. Breaking Point could only be activated when an opponent attacked, and it was a one turn reverse Metal Force, powering up the attacked monster by half of the attacking monster's attack strength. The Giant Orc roared as it increased in size and was boosted to thirty-nine hundred attack points, stronger then the Paladin.   
  
It caught the energy with its fists and slowed it down, then after a few seconds of struggle it completely stopped the attack, and starting to force it back towards its source. Now Kai was going to be facing the force of his own attack, boosted by five hundred points. He was going to lose his Paladin. Suddenly he heard Drake mutter something. "Damn, I was hoping to save this for later."  
  
And as suddenly as the orc had increased in size it began to get smaller, and it was pushed backwards by the attack again. The now tiny orc found itself unable to fend off the powerful energy attack and was obliterated instantly, confusing them all. Onn snarled and directed his question to both of his opponents. "How did that happen? My monster was stronger!"   
  
Drake grinned and directed Onn's attention to his remaining card, which was now face-up. It showed a Battle Ox being massively reduced in size, and it was a quick-play magic card. Kai whooped as he recognized it, knowing exactly what had happened. "The Shrink magic card cut your monster's attack in half, making it once again weaker then the Dark Paladin. Looks like that exchange goes to us." (OLP: 5550)  
  
Onn's fist was clenched tightly shut as he picked up a card off the top of his deck, knowing that he would have to act quickly if he was going to take back control of this duel. And his newest card would do so. "Power of the Cemetery! This card lets me and my brother draw cards equal to the number of cards in our cemetery....up to a maximum of seven of course. So I get four and Uni gets five."  
  
The two robed duelists increased their hand size according to the effect of the magic card, bringing Onn to six cards and Uni to five. Now they could regain control using their new cards. "I use the magic card Grave Sacrifice, removing Giant Orc and Buster Blader from the cemeteries to normal summon Wicked Gorgon-Medusa(2500/2000)! And since it was normal summoned I can seal away one monster on the field in a coffin of stone!"  
  
The new monster to be summoned was a hideous blue-skinned woman with hair made of snakes. She, if you could call it that, was also seven feet tall, and had a nasty smile one her face. Slowly she turned her gaze on the paladin, who tried to turn away but was caught by her power. And in seconds it was frozen in stone. "No! My Paladin!"  
  
"My next step is to place two cards face down, and then use Illegality on Drake's deck master! With that out of the way, I attack Drake directly!" The two cards appeared, followed by one that halted his Magician of Faith's effect. Finally Medusa turned her gaze on Drake, and fired twin beams of red energy at him. They streaked towards him, only to be intercepted by the trap card Kai activated.  
  
"Magic Cylinders absorbs your attack and sends it back towards a different monster, your partner's defense monster in fact!" The twin beams entered the cylinder, and then it flip around, sending the beams flying out the other end straight towards Uni's defense creature. But before it got far, a white fuzzy creature jumped out of Onn's hand and bit through Kai's cylinder, stopping the redirection.   
  
"By discarding Kobuki(300/200) from my hand I can negate the activation of a trap card and destroy it. So your cylinders are useless, and Drake still gets hit!" Kai felt a wound to his pride as he was unable to protect his partner. It was his fault! Drake had used up all his face-down cards to protect his Paladin last turn, and now he couldn't do anything to save Drake from a similar fate. The punk duelist took the attacks directly to the chest, staggered, and then recovered quickly. (DLP: 3500)  
  
Despite Kai's wounded pride, Drake didn't seemed bothered by the damage he had taken. In fact as soon as he drew his next card he started laughing, and he said something about a shocking turn of events. "I'll just use the magic card Card in Hand to place a monster from my deck into my hand."  
  
He ejected his deck and searched through it, coming across the monster he wanted quite quickly. Then he shuffled his deck and replaced it in its holster, before putting the monster into his hand. Now he was ready. "I shall use the magic card Trial By Fire! By discarding Omegus from my hand I can ritually summon the mighty magic user, Legendary Flame Lord(2400/2000)!"  
  
In an explosion of fire the new monster was revealed. He marched through the flames as if they were nothing, wearing only plain brown clothing, a scorched brown cape, and a purple helmet. He grinned and jauntily summoned all the fire into his hand, forming it into an oddly shaped purple staff, which glowed brightly with the orange light of the flames at the top. "Now I intend to use his special effect, requiring three magic counters...using the one card left in my hand. So lets get started with Pot of Greed!"  
  
Drake pulled the two cards free as a bright red orb appeared near the neck of his magic user's staff. It started spinning around, showing itself off to everyone who could see. "Now I use Payment of Debt to draw three more cards!" He picked up three cards, raising his hand to a total of four cards as another red orb spun about the neck of Legendary Flame Lord's staff.   
  
"For two more counters, one more then I need, I'll play Shot From the Dark, reactivating Payment of Debt from the cemetery!" Again Drake drew three cards, giving him six cards all together, and two more orbs started in their eccentric orbit about the staff. Now, with four magic counters, his monster was ready to unleash its ultimate strength.   
  
"Lets continue by setting three cards face down shall we? Of course next I'm going to summon a unique spellcaster called Fire Curser(1500/1100). Lastly the effect of my Flame Lord. By removing three magic counters from him I can destroy every monster on the field besides himself!" The magic user flashed them a cocky grin as three of his four orbs vanished, and with a sweep of his hand the entire field was consumed by fire. Even the Dark Paladin was obliterated by the effect, causing Kai to lose life points equal to half his stone monster's attack. (KLP: 6300)  
  
When the flames died down not only was Legendary Flame Lord still standing, but so was Fire Curser, a tall brunette women with red eyes and red robes, holding a staff made of pure fire. Legendary Flame Lord winked at her, but she just ignored him. "Guess what I didn't mention? Fire Curser can't be effected by mass-target effects like Legendary Flame Lord's. So she remains along with him! Now my two monsters will attack Onn!"  
  
The two fire casters raised their wands and sent streams of flame at the nearly defenseless duelist, but at the last moment one of his cards flipped up, and then the flames struck. However Drake had seen Curse of Pain, meaning his Flame Lord's attack was gonna damage him instead. "I may take the damage from my lord's attack, but when Fire Curser deals damage a bonus five hundred points are dealt directly to your life points!" (DLP: 1100, OLP: 3550)  
  
Uni picked up a card as his turn started, and glanced at his cards. He already had the perfect plan to deal with this. It was going to be so easy! They were almost ready! "I'll place two cards face down, and play Monster Reborn on Aishi(100/100)!" The monster was a blue monster made-up of...well it seemed like it was made of air, and it stood on something like a triangular kite. And it was pathetically weak, making Kai wonder why he had reborned it.  
  
Kai picked up his card and summoned it to the field, revealing Blade Knight(2000/1000), which got the power bonus because he had no cards in his hand. He could risk an attack, but Aishi was probably revived because Uni wanted him to attack. He wouldn't fall for such a simple trick. "End turn!"  
  
Now it was Onn's time to shine, and with the card he had drawn he was certain he knew what was going to be next. He played the Graceful Charity card, and swiftly drew his three cards. Upon seeing the cards he knew that he had been right about this turn. Now was the moment of victory. Swiftly he deposited his two rejected cards into the cemetery, keeping only the card he had chosen. "Now is the moment of truth! Now That Guy and This Guy shall unite to bring about your doom! Monster Reborn to revive Koitsu(200/100) in attack mode!"  
  
Drake understood in the moment that he heard the name and saw the monster, understood exactly what they were about to face. He had heard about these cards, but had never expected to face them. After all, it was very difficult to get them out and keep them out for each other since Aishi was a weak five star monste and Koitsu a weak ten star monster. But when combined...."Kai, get ready for something stronger then anything else you've ever faced! Aishi and Koitsu are union monsters, the strongest of them all!"  
  
Koitsu was a red version of Aishi, and in just a moment they would combine into an incredibly deadly force. If they played things out right, Aishi-Koitsu would be able to crush Drake and Kai easily. "I union the monsters together to create Aishi-Koitsu(3100/100)! Now I have it attack Fire Curser to finish you off!" The two monsters moved towards each other, the ends of their kites combining, letting them spin around. Then the two took off, moving at insane speeds towards Drake's weak female monster.  
  
"I activate two cards in a row! First I use Dark Magic Revival, activating Shrink from my cemetery to cut your monster's attack in half. Then as Shrink goes to your cemetery I'll activate Mechanical Magic Mirror, using it once again and then dumping it back into my cemetery! So Aishi-Koitsu drops to less then one thousand attack points!" Aishi-Koitsu collided with a jet of flame...but came out the other end unscathed, though the two twin's life points didn't. (ULP: 5887, OLP: 2937)   
  
"Fools! Union Rider's deck master effect prevents a completed union monster from being destroyed in battle! And since both of us own the monster we split the damage evenly. That shall be all for now, but shortly That Guy and This Guy will crush you!"   
  
Drake smirked as he picked up a card and swiftly set it on the field. It appeared next to his other face-down card. Can't be beaten in battle huh? "I sacrifice three counters from Legendary Flame Lord to activate his special effect. Fire Twister!"  
  
The magic user summoned a ball of fire into his hand and then spun around, twisting it about him until a giant tornado of flames had formed. Then it was pushed away, zipping all around the field, rolling over every monster. When it cleared there was no more Blade Knight, but Aishi-Koitsu was fine. And Drake's fears were confirmed when the two union duelists pointed towards Union Rider #2, which had to protect it from effect destruction. "I'll set one monster face down and switch my other two into defense. Sorry Kai, I didn't know."  
  
Now it became Uni's turn once again, and now he was ready to absolutely finish this duel. There was no way out now for his enemy's, because with this next card the mighty union monster would become unstoppable, and they, the Union Riders, would claim victory! "ACTIVATE INFERNAL SACRIFICE!"   
  
Uni and Onn dumped their hands into the cemetery and their face down cards exploded into shrapnel. But in exchange an aura of fire surrounded Aishi-Koitsu, massively increasing its power. Infernal Sacrifice cleared their field and hands, prevented them from drawing unless they wanted to destroy it...but then their monster's attack power was doubled to sixty-two hundred! "Attack Kai directly!"  
  
Kai shot a look over to his partner, but Drake merely mouthed the words 'not yet', and turned away. Kai let out a cry of pain, followed by a gasp of shock from Serenity as the kite portion of their unioned opponent sliced into him, ripping his shirt and cutting his skin. And because of the immense strength of the union monster...he was almost dead. (KLP: 100)  
  
As soon as Kai's turn began he picked up a card and shot a furious look at Drake, hoping the other duelist knew what he was doing, letting Drake take that damage. Heck, in a duel like this Drake could have at least defended with a face-up defense monster. To his surprise the other duelist mouthed another word, one that Kai recognized as the english word 'trample'. Trample...but in the game that meant that a monster could deal damage even if its target was in defense mode...Aishi-Koitsu had a trample effect! That's why Drake didn't defend with a monster, it would have killed him and he had known Kai could survive the attack. "One card face down."  
  
Onn ignored his draw phase because he too was affected by Infernal Sacrifice. Instead he simply raised one arm and aimed it at Kai, and the duelist knew what was coming next. "Finish him Aishi-Koitsu!" Drake started to move to activate one of his down cards, but Kai motioned him to stop. He could handle this on his own, he needed Drake to concentrate on whatever strategy he had, not on saving him.   
  
"Negate Attack!" The swift attack bounced off the barrier, and his opponent was forced to end his turn, passing it off to Drake. The punk duelist picked up one card and raised his eyes to the duel before setting a single card face down. Whatever he intended....it would be something good.   
  
"I sacrifice Legendary Flame Lord, Fire Curser, and my defense monster to summon Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!" The entire sky lit up with lightning, and far away eyes focused on this duel, knowing the importance of a god being summoned. Kai could barely comprehend the power he was feeling as Drake's three monsters disappeared, only to be replaced by a monster more massive then anything he had ever witnessed before. What the hell was it?  
  
Unable to do anything else, Drake ended his turn, and Uni clenched one fist tight, grimacing at the sight of the huge monster. But he didn't care, his monster was stronger. What he didn't know was that Drake wanted them at a sense of false security. "Even the power of your new and mighty monster can't stand up to the power of That Guy and This Guy! Attack!"   
  
One of Drake's two face down cards flipped up, revealing Waboku. With the battle damage dropped down to zero it was all over for that turn. There was nothing else Uni could do. Kai joined in, picking up a card and setting it down quickly. Drake had something planned, and he just wanted to use up their attacks for some reason. What was he waiting for?  
  
Onn was next, and he wasn't going to tolerate something so disgusting as being prevented of destroying a monster weaker then their mighty creature! This massive abomination had to go immediately, and he would deal with it where his brother had failed. "Aishi-Koitsu, slice that beast in half and destroy Drake's life points!"  
  
"Sorry Onn, but the only life points that are about to be destroyed are yours. You've fallen into the trap I've laid....Devil's Sanctuary!" Onn and Uni could only cry out in terror as the little metal devil appeared, and Aishi-Koitsu sliced straight through it, shattering it into tiny little pieces. And they knew quite well what it could do, they understood the horror of its power. (ULP: 2787, OLP: 0)  
  
The second of the two Union Riders let out a cry of pain as a black wind swept around him, ripping his soul from his body and picking it up. The wind soared away, taking his soul with it and leaving a lifeless shell that dropped to the ground. Uni collapsed to his knees and let out an earth shattering scream at the sight of his brother's corpse. Worse, his brother wasn't even dead, he was just...gone. "YOU! You knew this would happen! And I'll make you pay for it! YOU'LL PAY! I'LL MAKE BOTH OF YOU SUFFER!"   
  
Drake just ignored his yelling and drew another card, before activating the card. "Renewal Spell lets me remove two magic cards from my cemetery to reactivate a card in the cemetery. I'm reusing Payment of Debt." He quickly drew his next card, and then decided on what to do. He set two cards face down, watching them appear holographically, and then played his remaining card.  
  
"Another Shot From the Dark to activate Shrink again, cutting your union monster down to size. And when that's done I'll give it a big smack with my god monster's God Hand Crusher!" Obelisk swept its hand across the field, smashing Aishi-Koitsu to the ground and crushing his opponent's life points. It wasn't quite over, but the damage was certainly effective, and it would help in the long run. (ULP: 1887)  
  
"KILL OBELISK!" The union monster zipped across the field to cut down the god monster, but waiting for it was a giant mirror with a reflection of itself in it. It crashed straight through the mirror, and then turned back around to stop in front of Uni. Uni sneered upon realizing that it was Kai who had activated the trap, Reflective Surface, which dealt damage equal to his monster's base attack. (ULP: 1587)  
  
"One card face down." Kai's newest card appeared there, and he hoped it would be enough. He and Drake couldn't keep this up for very much longer, they had to figure out a way out of the situation quickly, or else things would end badly. And he needed some way to fight back!   
  
Drake picked up his next card and placed it on the field, revealing Magical Well. He searched his deck for a magic card and added it to his hand, then swiftly declared the end of his turn. Obviously Drake had something intended, but whatever it was Kai didn't know.  
  
"Every time I attack Drake something goes wrong, so this time I'll attack Kai directly!" Aishi-Koitsu turned their attention on the essentially defenseless duelist, but they ran straight into the defensive barrier that was Mirror Force. Drake flashed Kai a thumbs up, having saved him for that moment...unnecessarily though. Kai had his own way to protect himself. Unfortunately for them the effect of Union Rider #2 saved Aishi-Koitsu from being destroyed by the trap.  
  
Kai drew a card and grimaced, seeing only a sacrifice monster. He couldn't summon it, and even if he could it wouldn't help him since Aishi-Koitsu had a trample effect and was much stronger then the monster he held. "I pass my turn."  
  
Drake casually drew a card, and grinned when he saw what it was. "One monster in defense mode." The card appeared beside the giant Obelisk, and Kai and Uni both wondered what he was up to. With the union monster's trample ability that monster was a major liability...so what was Drake up to? Was he trying to kill himself?  
  
"Attack Kai aga...damn." He had been cut off by Kai's trap card activating, revealing Thunder of Ruler which prevented Uni from having a battle phase in that turn. It was a one turn save, but it was certainly effective. Now he just had to hope he could draw a card he could use in the next turn.   
  
Kai drew a card, and then passed again, unable to do anything. If they had their deck masters this would be easy. All Kai had to do was draw a magic destruction card and then Drake could have his deck master back. With that Drake could keep reusing Shrink and keep slapping Aishi-Koitsu, able to kill Uni quickly. But without their deck masters...they were in trouble.   
  
Drake drew a card and then immediately played it, knowing that now would be the time to finish off the strategy he had been working on. "Monster Reborn, to revive Legendary Flame Lord!" The fire user shimmered into view, then stumbled away from the massive monster he discovered next to him, obviously terrified.   
  
"Now I flip my face-down White Magic Summoner into attack mode!" The white robed magic user appeared, and also stumbled away from the fierce visage of Obelisk. He shot a glance to the flame lord, who just shrugged his shoulders, unable to explain why they were forced to be in the presence of such a nasty looking creature. Their master used magicians, not...giant thingies.   
  
"Now I'll use my god monster's special ability. By sacrificing White Magic Summoner and Legendary Flame Lord to it, I can use its power of Soul Max!" The giant blue god picked up the two puny magic users, crushing them in its fists and absorbing their power to increase its own. Suddenly its power surged, and the counters for attack strength were unable to follow it. Whatever its attack was now, it was certainly higher then Aishi-Koitsu's!   
  
"GOD HAND CRUSHER!" The huge god creature punched with such force that a huge blue aura erupted around its fists, and that huge fist crashed into the much smaller union creature, who was hurled backwards into Uni, in a crushing blow that would reduce Uni's life point to zero, winning them the duel. (ULP: 794)  
  
Uni struggled to his feet, and gestured to his two deck masters who had unioned together. Drake and Kai gasped as Aishi-Koitsu rose up through the smoke, unharmed. But how did Uni still have life points? "The final combined effect of my brother's deck master and mine is that if an attack on a completed union monster would win the duel....I could reduce my life points by half to save myself, but then we'd never be able to use our deck master's effects again."   
  
Drake just shrugged, understanding exactly what was going to happen. Slowly he let his gaze settle out in the distance, where he knew she waited. With this next attack the duel could be won for either side, and he knew that to accomplish his goal he would have to do something he had never expected to do.   
  
Uni raised one arm, palm thrust out and fingers spread wide apart, and declared his final attack of the duel. Now was the moment of victory, now the end would come! Now he would get vengeance for the loss of his brother! "Aishi-Koitsu, finish Kai off, I want to leave Drake for last!"  
  
"Not so fast! I'll defend with Obelisk the Tormentor!" Uni and Kai both looked at him like he was crazy, but still the giant beast moved in the way of Aishi-Koitsu's attack, which ripped right through Obelisk's belly and out the other side. Finally Aishi-Koitsu swerved around and came to a rest in front of Uni, and Obelisk shattered into tiny pieces, with it would go the last of Drake's life points.   
  
"I've got somewhere to be, so I'll leave this duel to you Kai. But first I'll help out with this last trap card. Hope of Desperation! This will increase a player's life points by the amount of points a destroyed monster had. And since Obelisk had four thousand, you gain the same amount. Until we meet again....later to both you and Serenity!" (KLP: 4100, DLP: 0)  
  
Kai and Serenity watched in horror as a tornado of black wind descended on Drake from the sky, and then it rose back up, leaving no trace that the punk duelist had ever been there. The only real proof was the black leather jacket that Serenity was wearing, and the deck master that stood loyally behind where Drake had been standing. "But...why? You must know something we don't...and I'll make sure you can do whatever you need to. I won't let anyone down by losing this duel!"  
  
He drew his card and sighed at the sight of the card. Now he had to carry out his threat. He had to win this duel, and therefore he would have to strip Uni of his soul...something he had hoped to avoid. "Together Aishi and Koitsu are too powerful for me to defeat. But separate they offer no challenge. That is how I will defeat them, by separating them, just as you were separated from your twin. To do so I use this magic card, Defusion!"   
  
Uni could only fall to his knees in disgrace as his monster was split apart into its weaker forms, two pathetically weak monsters that wouldn't stand a chance against any attack. "Now I play Autonomous Action Unit at a cost of fifteen hundred life points, to revive one monster to the field!" (KLP: 2600)   
  
One of Uni's tears hit the ground like an explosive force, seemingly louder then anything Kai had ever heard. But truthfully he couldn't hear it...it was just his conscience and his imagination playing games with him. But this was what he had to do, there was no way out of this except to win. "I revive the Dark Magician from the cemetery!" The purple robed magic user appeared on the field, equipped by the Autonomous Action Unit card. His magician offered him a brief bow, understanding the feelings his master had for this situation.   
  
"I'm sorry. Please, Dark Magician, you know what to do." The magician nodded once, and then raised his staff out at arms length. Shutting his eyes and looking away, the magician fired off his magic attack, crushing Aishi with ease. The force of the attack blasted Uni off the top of the waterfall, where he fall to the water below. Before he hit, he was just a soulless shell. (ULP: 0)  
  
Kai dropped to his knees, horrified at what he had been forced to do, horrified at the things that had happened. Three lives gone so quickly, and no way to stop it from happening. He looked up in time to see Serenity drop into his arms. She started sobbing against his shoulder, and he put his arms around her uncertainly. There was nothing he could say to make it better.   
  
Author's Note: Well now...bet that surprised you. See you guys next chapter, hope you enjoyed this one. Oh, if you can guess the pun involved in the Drake and Kai's opponent's names then you get a cookie and a prize. Should be easy.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Drake: Shot From the Dark, White Magic Summoner, Payment of Debt, Omegus(only mentioned), Card in Hand, Fire Curser, Renewal Spell, Magical Well  
  
Kai: Soul Spell(only mentioned I know, but still. And this card is Time Mage's creation)  
  
Uni: Illegality, Redirection, Infernal Sacrifice  
  
Onn: Blood Lust, Misdirection, Breaking Point, Power of the Cemetery, Wicked Gorgon-Medusa, Illegality, Kobuki 


	28. Reunion in the Rain

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.   
  
Author's Note: This is it, the beginning of the end. Let's get this final party started!  
  
Quote of the Day: 'Duel, n. A formal ceeremony preliminary to the reconciliation of two enemies. Great skill is necessary to the satisfactory obesrvance; if awkwardly performed the most unexpected and deplorable consequences sometimes ensue. A long time ago a man lost his life in a duel.' -defintion of 'Duel' in the Devi's Dictionary, by Ambrose Bierce.   
  
Chapter Twenty-Seven: Reunion in the Rain  
  
Ryu watched Yami walk steadily onwards, ignoring the white haired boy's pleas to slow down. Yami had been like this since the four-way duel, and there was no getting through to him. He was harsh and cold, and Ryou worried that if they met anyone soon, Yami might hurt them. "Yami I thi..." His words were cut off as he stared ahead, discovering only white.  
  
Kevin, Mai, Hinata, Autumn, and Mokuba had been wandering aimlessly about on their horses, desperately hoping to find someone, anyone. But so far they hadn't seen hide nor hair of even a single living soul. Even the village of amazons was gone. It seemed that the number of people in this strange place had been thinned down to a bare handful.   
  
The horses let out shrill cries of terror, and nearly bucked their owners off. Kevin and Mai, who were leading the two horses, both tried to calm the beasts, looking around for the source of the horse's terror. When they found it, they wished they hadn't. For the horses feared the blank white nothingness.  
  
Duke and Tristan sat where they were, unable to move from the spot where Joey had fallen in battle. They couldn't comprehend what had happened. They couldn't see the point of moving on. What would they tell Serenity? How could they possibly tell her that the most important thing in her life was now gone, and empty soulless nothing.   
  
When they suddenly discovered a wall of white surrounding them, they briefly contemplated fighting, or running. But there was nowhere to run, and no way to fight a simple color. And besides, what was the use? Let the white devour them, it wasn't as if they were important or anything like that. The white had more to live for then they did....  
  
Serenity's sobbing was something of a focal point for Kai. Unable to figure out a way to deal with his owned confused emotions, he used Serenity's emotions to focus himself on a goal. He would make her feel better if it was the last thing he did. "Its not your fault. There was nothing you could have done to change it."  
  
But how could he make her believe that? Drake's choice had been his own, but it had been highly confusing. He could have given himself those four thousand life points, survived that attack, and the duel's outcome would have been exactly the same. They would have won. So why did he sacrifice his life like that.   
  
His contemplation was cut off by Serenity's sudden scream of terror, and he whipped around, bringing his fists up to fight off whatever had terrified the younger girl. But what he saw made him drop his fists. It was futile. Because it was everywhere. "Its so white...."  
  
Dalin was used to abnormal things. After all, he had seen quite a number of strange things in recent time, in his recent memory...which was his only true memory. He had seen odd duelists, odd monsters, odd effects, and odd visions. But none of that prepared him to not be able to see anything at all.  
  
He wasn't blind, not at all. He could see his hands and his body perfectly find. It was everything else that he couldn't see. Instead of walking through a dilapidated city with vine covered buildings, he now walked through....a world full of white. It was as if someone had taken white-out and smeared it over everything.  
  
"Somebody is starting over....something is being changed. But what?" He never got the chance to consider an answer to his own questions. Moments after he thought up the questions, some divine force chose that second as the time to sweep the brush of white-out across his tiny little dot, and then there was more white.  
  
Tea sighed and tried to curl up against the semi-warm inside of the tree. She was now residing within one of those odd trees that looked like a giant had scooped out the inside. It was odd certainly, but it was also the perfect place to hide from the rain, and that was what it was now doing.  
  
There came an odd booming sound, and thinking it was thunder she shrugged it off. But when it came again, this time closer and obviously not thunder, she decided she should risk checking on the weather. Slowly she peaked her head outside, and what she saw shocked her.  
  
Or rather, what she didn't see. She felt the rain pelting her head, wetting her head and making it stick to her face. She heard the distant explosion of thunder, and the odd booming sound. She felt the heat from nearby lightning. But none of that was there, it had all been consumed by an endless board of whiteness.  
  
Loud and irritating laughter was what woke them up, all of them. Their eyes opened, and they found themselves grouped together. There weren't that many of them, a few dozen at best, and some of them were faces they didn't want to see, but they were all alive!  
  
Yami looked around and spotted familiar faces. He saw Weevil, Rex, Espa Roba. He saw Bandit Keith, Mako Tsunami. He could see some of his friends, like Duke, Tristan, Mai, and even Tea. There in the distance was Dalin, and there a bit farther away was Hinata and Autumn. Mokuba was wandering around looking for his brother.   
  
There was Rebecca, the young and highly unusual genius girl who had dueled Yugi a month or so back. Ryou was here with him, and he saw Serenity a little ways away with a young man he didn't recognize. There was another face he didn't recognize, a blonde boy of obviously American origin....but that was all.   
  
There were so many faces that were missing. Despite the number of times he looked around he couldn't find them. There was no Joey, no Drake, no Kaiba. He saw no Kensai, nor did he even see the face he had most expected and most feared. Taichi was nowhere to be seen. He couldn't see hide nor hair of Ryu either.   
  
For the first time since he had awoken he surveyed his surroundings instead of the people. It was a clear courtyard of marble tiles, and about one hundred feet away were far reaching and wide steps, leading up to a Greek styled temple, with colonnades and everything.   
  
All around him was a paradise of varying fruit trees, and flowering plants. Roses of different colors, tulips, daffodils, every flower that one could imagine. If Eden existed, this had to be it. At least, if Eden stopped after about half a mile and suddenly turned into a blank white nothingness that boxed them all in.   
  
Whatever kind of false paradise this was, he didn't care. It was the person responsible for its creation and for bringing them here that had him interested. He'd say Taichi under normal circumstances, but this false paradise wasn't Taichi's idea of an enjoyable place. This stuff would have made Taichi vomit out his own heart, if it was still there.  
  
No, this was something, or someone, new. Whatever new terror was awaiting them, he would be prepared for it. There was nothing that could surprise him, nothing that could stop him. Because whoever was responsible for this, would be receiving the blame for the loss of Yugi and every other person whose face he did not see.  
  
Slowly and cautiously, those who knew each other gathered together. Mostly it was the old gang, but a few new faces had also joined in. They made sure they were all okay with various comments of that nature, and then the true questions began. Everybody wanted to know whether any of the others knew why some of their friends were missing.  
  
So in this way they all discovered the truth. Joey had fallen saving Duke and Tristan from a psychotic blue-haired man who believed to be from Atlantis. Yami felt a certain amount of satisfaction as he saw that this blue-haired man had not made it. He too had fallen at some point.  
  
Kensai had gained some crazy new card called the Seal of Orichalcos, and using its power he had taken on Taichi. In a shocking display of honor and inner strength, Kensai had sacrificed his own life to finally defeat Taichi once and for all. Now Taichi was no longer a threat.   
  
Drake had fallen in a difficult double duel against union duelists. According to Kai the decision Drake had made was unusual, as he had chosen to sacrifice his own life to increase Kai's life points, when saving himself would have also allowed them to win the game. His sacrifice didn't change anything. Yami could offer no explanation.  
  
The one true mystery was the one that Hinata was so worried about. Nobody could seem to offer any explanation as to what had happened to Ryu, as nobody had encountered him in their travels. Whether he had been defeated in a duel or something else had happened, they couldn't be sure.   
  
Turning his attention the American in the group, Kevin Hunter, he decided it was time to ask some questions. There was something about the boy that seemed oddly familiar, but he couldn't place it. Had he seen the duelist somewhere? "Kevin, for some reason you seem familiar to me, any insight as to that?"  
  
The blonde duelist just shrugged and offered Yami a placating grin. "Sorry, can't help you with that. Guess I just have one of those really common faces that you see everywhere." Yami eyed the boy for several more seconds, as did Dalin, but finding nothing deceiving in his looks, Yami gave up. Perhaps Kevin was right, perhaps he was just imagining things.   
  
Now it was Dalin's turn to start asking questions. He wanted a few things answered, and he was certain he knew where he could get those questions answered. "Its about time we got some answers. I'm heading up to that temple to find out the truth." So he set off, marching towards the temple with great purpose in his stride.  
  
His march was halted by the voice of Kevin Hunter, who stopped Dalin with a very simple phrase. "I don't think going up there is necessary." Dalin blinked and turned around to face the other blonde, well aware that his large figure was highly intimidating. Again he thought he saw something in Kevin's eyes that was familiar, something he had seen before, but it was gone just as quickly as it had come.   
  
"And what makes you think that?" Kevin just raised his arm and pointed over Dalin's shoulder. Everyone's gaze followed that arm, and found themselves looking up at the top steps of the temple, where two figures had just appeared. One of them was the highly distinctive form of Yami Malik (Yami cursed upon seeing him), and the other was....impossible!  
  
"Welcome ladies, gentlemen, and respective midgets! You are the last standing in this deadly game, and you shall gain a great honor! You shall be the ones to worship my greatness....well at least some of you will be." These comments sent a wave of varying emotions through the assembled duelists, particularly from Rebecca and Mokuba, the two 'respective midgets.' But those who recognized the speaker, knew that this person was very serious.  
  
Indeed, the last time the gang had seen her, she had been dishing out insults to their enemy, and she had then gone on to perform quite admirably as well. She was not one of the good guys, but nor could she necessarily be described as one of the bad guys. Who she was became a different question. They recognized her, but she had no name that they knew of.  
  
"You have all survived the initial round of weeding. I admit that I didn't bring you all here, but upon discovering your presence within my home, I decided that I should make the best of it. Therefore I created the system that you all came to use, and now here you are, the best of the best....most likely." A fierce grin spread across her attractive features, and more murmurs passed through the crowd. Her violet eyes pierced out into the crowd, digging into the souls of those gathered.  
  
"I understand that none of you know who I am. And since the best amongst you shall soon be worshiping me for all time, I believe it is necessary for you to have some name to call me by. In past times my name was different, but now I have taken up a new name. I am called Ihachi, but for you, you all can simply call me Goddess."   
  
Yes, the group all recognized her, at least those who had been there. She was the strange spirit from within Drake who looked exactly like a younger version of Drake's sister. She was the spirit who had defeated Ryu and taken his Blue Eyes. She was the spirit who had taken over Drake and dueled Taichi when Drake had died. "Why the fuck would we worship you?"  
  
Everyone's eyes were now on Bandit Keith, the rude blonde American whom nobody liked. Upon seeing the furious look in Ihachi's eyes, those around Keith moved aside, knowing something was about to happen. Ihachi's dainty arm rose, and with a flash of golden power Keith was hurled a dozen feet through the air, coming crashing down painfully on his back, unconscious for the moment. "That is why."  
  
"While you have all survived the first round, in some cases that may be because you simply avoided dueling, and therefore survived. As that may be the case, there will be another round. The weak amongst you shall be weeded out, and duels will take place to do so." Her fierce grin was mirrored by her flunky, Yami Malik, whose twisted features were somehow less frightening when set next to her fierce beauty.   
  
To everyone's surprise Yami chose this moment to speak up, despite what had happened moments earlier to Keith. Everyone thought he was insane. "You expect us to just pick opponent's and duel to your satisfaction and then worship you? You're no goddess, this realm is a god of its own, and it will consume you eventually!"   
  
Yami was ready as her dainty arm rose again, this time aiming at him. He had a full barrier prepared to release using the magic of his Puzzle. What he had already forgotten was the incredible power that Drake had displayed, drawing upon her strength. The blast of magic struck his barrier and shattered it instantly.   
  
The one-time Pharaoh was blasted backwards, his feet sliding across the ground, the tips of his boots barely touching. He fought the magic as the force continued, but it was like fighting against a tidal wave with one's bare hands. He couldn't even dent the enormous power flowing over him. And so he was swept aside, blasted into a row of trees where he fell helplessly to the ground.   
  
"Don't you ever speak out of turn! You will speak when I give you permission to speak, so until then I suggest...NO! I order you to shut the hell up and let me talk! You'll get your turn to speak when the duels begin." Yami let out a groan, and tried to sit up, but found himself still flattened by her power. Tea ran over and drop to her knees next to him, trying to help him up. But she couldn't do anything.  
  
"The rules are simple. Choose how you duel, in some cases choose who you duel, and the winners shall receive the right to enter the temple. Refuse to duel and you shall be punished, lose a duel and you shall perish. Its very simple. Now, let the duels commence!" She raised her arms above her head, and various explosions of multi-colored energy peppered the sky. It was fireworks with magic, a very impressive display as well. She knew how to throw a party.  
  
Suddenly a deep voice rang out through the crowd. "I'd rather die then participate in this sick game of yours." Everyone located the source of the deep voice, and were astonished at what they saw. He was huge, easily reaching close to seven feet in height. He was extremely muscular, about the same as Dalin, and his blonde hair came down in nasty sideburns on his face. He wore a tight black muscle shirt that left his arms bare, and all together he was very intimidating.  
  
But not to Ihachi. She simply looked at for a moment as though staring at an ant. In truth, to her that was what he was. Just an ant compared to her power. He had no strength of his own, no magic to speak of. He was a nothing, and she was a goddess in this place. "Raphael was it? Well, if that is your wish, then far be it for me to deny you it."  
  
She raised her arm again, but this time she simply placed her middle finger and thumb together. Then she snapped her finger, creating an audible click. Raphael's screams echoed throughout the false paradise as golden fires erupted from his skin, consuming him from the inside out.   
  
It lasted just a few seconds in truth, but to those watching and listening it took an eternity. It was a terrible way to die, and whoever he was, whatever he might have done, he didn't deserve that. Nobody deserved such a thing. Ihachi was out of her gourd, insane with power!   
  
The thought crossed several minds as they watched the death of a bold soul. Each of them had that goal in mind. Yami, Dalin, Kai, Serenity, and others. Each of them was thinking the same thing. Each of them knew the same thing to be true. Ihachi had to be stopped, before more innocents suffered.   
  
Ihachi was just too powerful to attack directly. If they were going to defeat her, they were going to have to do it her way. They'd have to enter that temple and figure things out from there. And that meant winning the duels they were forced into. And understanding the psyche of evil villains, they knew it wouldn't be easy, or simple.   
  
"Now, if you little kiddies are done playing around, why don't we get started? As a matter of fact, I have the perfect duel in mind. One of my deputy's will duel first, but he won't choose who he duels. You will all get that honor to choose who faces him. But be warned, he won't go easy on you. Until you enter the temple, ciao!" With those last words she departed, returning to temple. Malik didn't follow, instead he remained standing there like a guard hawk.  
  
In fact that was what he was. He was the last line of defense. Ihachi had told him that should the Pharaoh make it through his duels, and she said she had interesting plans for him, then he'd have to face Malik. If Malik was defeated, then all those left that had not perished in the games would be able to enter the temple. But the chances of him being defeated were slim to none, because his deck was second to none!   
  
Murmurs could be heard throughout the group of duelists. They were awaiting the entrance of Ihachi's deputy, awaiting the decision of who would have the right to duel first. Whoever the deputy was, they were certain he would be someone just as freaky as Ihachi was, otherwise they wouldn't be in-league.   
  
A flash of light and a crack of thunder alerted them to the gathering of a storm. Unable to cover themselves they found themselves getting drenched by the sudden downpour. It was the same storm that Tea had fled from, and now it was in this strange place, this fake Eden.   
  
The deputy's entrance, coming out of the temple, was punctuated by a flash of lightning and explosion of thunder. For that moment they couldn't see him, nor recognize him. But when the next bolt of lightning came, his face was illuminated, and then they knew. But what they saw couldn't be...it just didn't make any sense.   
  
Ryu Shigeru stalked down the steps of the temple, approaching the duelists quite casually. A vicious smirk filled his face, and his eyes pulsed red in the dim light. The rain battered his body, matting his hair to his head, making him look truly fearsome. On his left arm was a duel disk, deck already inserted, and the disk was already activated. All he had to do was begin the duel.   
  
"So, who wants to be my first victim? Hurry up and form a line, I have to weed out the weakest of you before the day is out." Arguments burst out as duelists tried to decide who would face this duelist, who would face Ihachi's deputy. Different arguments raged amongst the hearts of those who had counted themselves amongst Ryu's friends.  
  
"You traitorous bastard!" He caught the slap before it fell, clenching the slim wrist in his calloused hand with ease. He let his smirk drop as he recognized the face of the one who had attacked him, recognized it in a flash of light from the lightning. It was a face he knew almost as well as his own, a face he had bartered much for. And now this was what he got for it.   
  
"Hinata....is that a challenge?" In response she swung at him with her other arm, but he simply ducked the blow. With that moment of distraction she performed a snap kick, aiming to shatter his right kneecap. With practiced ease he picked up his leg and caught the kick with his own foot, forcing her back and shoving with his arms, causing her to be thrown violently to the ground.   
  
Screaming with rage the younger girl hurled herself at him, forgetting all her years of kendo training in a fit of rage. She swung wildly with her limbs, desperately trying to strike every inch of his body she could reach. She wanted to beat him within an inch of his life and then maybe beat down that last inch! He had betrayed their trust, betrayed her trust!   
  
In her fury she didn't quite understand what Ryu did. But she found herself quickly in a heap on the ground, a nasty bruise forming on her cheek. Her stomach felt like it had been hit by a sledgehammer. Ryu certainly didn't care who she was, he just fought as he would anybody, and she had payed for that.   
  
Clenching her fists, her knuckles white from the tightness of her grip, she rose to her feet. With a quick depression of a button her DD2 sprang open, now active and ready to go. Yami Malik smirked from his place high up at the top of the temple. The first duel was decided, and it would certainly be an interesting one.   
  
Ryu had gotten himself into the position of Ihachi's deputy because he had wanted Hinata's soul freed. Ihachi hadn't told him that Hinata's soul was roaming the Shadow Realm with all the others, free as a bird. She hadn't had to do a thing, and she got a deputy who was sworn to follow her every command.   
  
Ryu hadn't intended to follow up on his agreement. He had intended to deal with Ihachi as soon as Hinata was freed. But he had soon discovered that a deal made in the Shadow Realm couldn't be broken, not unless you were extraordinarily powerful. Now he had no choice but do as she said, and she said that he was to duel whoever she wanted him to. And now he had to duel Hinata....and she was practically his sister.   
  
Shaken these thoughts from his mind and focusing himself on the aspect of his mind and soul that was a born killer, he brought up the cruelty and hatred that had made him so deadly in his years as a gang member. He had no fear of death, no compassion for life, nothing to care about. He was a ruthless killing machine, and his target was Hinata.  
  
Both duelists picked up their cards, Hinata choosing to go first. She drew a sixth card and stared hard at the cards, anything to avoid looking at the creature that was her opponent. She had thought she had known him, thought she had loved him. But now he had become a deputy for some sick bitch who was willing to sacrifice hundreds of lives just to get some powerful worshipers!   
  
"I set one card face down, and summon Maha Vailo(1550/1400)! Now take your turn you scum!" The blue robed and armored magic user rose onto the field, electricity crackling between her palms. A card appeared behind her, but it didn't matter. Maha Vailo mattered because its effect would let it overpower anything Ryu could summon, as long as she got the chance to equip it with something.   
  
Ryu drew a card, the nasty smirk still on his face. Already he had a plan, and it was all based on how you read things. Luckily for him the duel disk system agreed with how he read it. As soon as she attacked she'd be getting a nasty surprise. "I'll place a card face down, and then set a monster in defense mode."   
  
Now the fun part was about to begin. He had something very special planned, and it would be the end of her. Slowly he picked up his next card, and then slipped it into one of his magic zones. "Now I shall equip Fairy Meteor Crush....on Maha Vailo(2050/1400)!" This strange move brought confused moments from everyone, particularly Hinata. However Dalin had a strange look on his face, as if he was trying to remember something.   
  
Hinata smirked and drew a card, ready to crush him for his foolish mistake. The red aura that now surrounded her monster gave it a trample ability, so she'd crush his defense monster and plenty of Ryu's life points in one swoop. "Apparently you've gone stupid, and I'll capitalize on that. But first I'll summon Gunman of Landstar(900/600) and equip him with Landstar Shot, raising his power to fifteen hundred!"  
  
Her new monster was similar to Swordsman of Landstar, except it was dressed in more modern clothing and held a gun in its hand. It actually looked like something out of the Musketeers. "In moments I'll be going directly at your life points, so I'll double my Gunman's attack power for this turn using my deck master's special ability, Forbidden Technique!"  
  
A bright orange aura erupted around the gunman, and suddenly its power shot all the way up to three thousand, making it equal with the Blue Eyes White Dragon. Now she could crush his defense monster and deal damage, and then strike a massive blow with her hugely powerful creature. "Equipping Fairy Meteor Crush on my monster was the last mistake you'll ever make! Maha Vailo, attack and destroy his defense monster!"  
  
The magic user raised her arms to the sky, and a bolt of lightning shot down from the storm clouds above, charging her up. Then Vailo thrust her arms forward and shot off that lightning, sending it striking into his defense monster. The creature splattered, revealing the pathetic defense of Giant Germ. "Now that you've destroyed Giant Germ(1000/100) I can special summon the last one from my deck in attack mode. And you take five hundred damage!" (HLP: 7500)  
  
She just smirked and raised one arm, ready to declare another attack. "You idiot! I may have lost five hundred points, but your monster has almost no defense power, so you'll be taking nearly two thousand points of damage!" Her laughter was cut off as instead of watching his counter drop, it was hers that was rapidly falling. And nobody seemed to understand except two people. (HLP: 5550)  
  
It was Dalin who first spoke up, his voice rising above the crashing of thunder to provide an explanation. "Hinata, beware gifts presented to you! The exact text of Fairy Meteor Crush is that when its equipped on a monster and attacks a monster with weaker defense, damage is dealt to the opponent's life points. Its Ryu's card and you're his opponent, therefore you take the damage!" She grimaced, understanding that she had been given a gift that could potentially kill her.  
  
"Fine, now I'll attack your pathetic germ with my Gunman!" The landstar raised his rifle and took careful aim, firing off a swift shot that burst straight through the attack mode germ. It was going to deal big damage to Ryu, but it also dealt damage to her from its effect. (HLP: 5050, RLP: 6000)  
  
"And now that my turn is over, my Gunman is destroyed because it was doubled by my deck master's effect." The gunman let out a brief cry as it exploded into tiny little fragments. To Hinata's surprise Ryu's deck master responded. It opened its mouth wide and shot out a ball of fire, which struck her in the chest and knocked her over. (HLP: 4550)  
  
Ryu threw back his head and started to laugh wildly. His dragon responded by letting out an ear splitting roar. "Fool! My deck master has a very powerful ability, much stronger then yours. Whenever one of your monsters is destroyed and goes to the cemetery, you lose five hundred life points! Feel lucky you don't take that damage from sacrifices."   
  
Now as her turn ended, it back time for Ryu to take his turn. As soon as he drew his next card, he knew exactly what to do. His face down card was going to make things all to easy, all he had to do was use gone of his other cards first. Whipping away some water that had trickled into his eyes he played his card, and watched as it appeared. "Now watch the power of my Earthquake moves all monsters on the field into face-up defense mode!"  
  
The rumble of thunder was suddenly drowned out by the shaking of the earth beneath their feet. Hinata was nearly unseated by dangerous movement of ground, but Ryu seemed unaffected. Her Maha Vailo dropped to one knee, now forced into defense mode. She didn't know what he intended, but it couldn't be good. "Reveal face down card, Micro Laser! This will drop your monster's defense down to zero!"  
  
His card flipped up, and from it shot a bright blue laser beam. It slashed out at her monster, ready to cut its defenses down to nothingness. But she had no intention of letting him do so. She was no easy prey. "Activate face down card, Trap Negation!" She dumped a card from her hand into the cemetery to negate his trap's activation, and watched with satisfaction as the laser vanished before striking her monster.  
  
"Trying to make it harder on me huh? Well it won't help, because I have a magic card to do similar. Its called Humble, and for the duration of this turn it drops your monster's current stat by one thousand points. Since Maha Vailo is in defense mode, it loses one thousand defense points!" His magic card pulled off its effect, and her Vailo started gasping for air, falling face first into the dirt. She was unable to pull herself up she was so weakened. And with only four hundred defense points she was easy prey.  
  
"I shall summon Spear Dragon(1900/0) in attack mode!" The blue and white dragon was summoned to the field, and let out a sharp cry that irritated Hinata's ears. Worse yet, she was well aware of Spear Dragon's effect. It had a trample ability, and with her monster so weak, this wasn't going to end well.   
  
Kai was the one who spoke up first, understanding exactly what was going on. He felt the need to alert this girl he didn't know to the problem facing her. Ryu's deck was a dangerous one, and she needed to know. "Be careful! He's using a Dark Trample Deck!"  
  
"Spear Dragon, cut her monster to ribbons!" The dragon swooped down upon the sickly magic user and drilled into her stomach with its sharp beak. The beak speared straight through her gut, coming out the other side. It reared back, the woman still stuck on its beak, and whipped its head around trying to throw the woman off. It finally succeeded, and she fell to the ground and exploded into holographic fragments. (HLP: 2550)   
  
The dragon moved into defense mode, and then it became Hinata's turn. Slowly she drew her card, contemplating exactly what she should do. The rain was helping her at the moment, because it let her pretend that all the water on her face was from the rain, and not from herself. "Monster Reborn to revive Maha Vailo!"  
  
The blue-clad woman appeared on the field again, ready to devastate the puny defense of Ryu's Spear Dragon. With no defense power it was an easy target for her monster. "Now I summon Hayabusa Knight(1000/700) in attack mode, and activate my deck master's ability on it, doubling its power!" The bird-like warrior let out a war call as it grew in size by nearly two feet, making it very deadly, particularly with its special effect.   
  
"Maha Vailo, obliterate Ryu's dragon!" Her Vailo opened one palm, revealing a ball of yellow electricity. It grabbed onto the sphere with its other hand and then hurled it at the dragon baseball style. The ball of electricity exploded on the dragon, shattering it into thousands of pieces. Now he was defenseless.  
  
"Hayabusa Knight, attack with Ten-Thousand Blades!" The warrior charged across the field and slashed with its rapier. The blade moved at incredible speeds, going so fast that nobody could follow it completely. It seemed to be attacking from dozens of angles at once. And it did serious damage, cutting Ryu's flesh severely. He just ignored the pain, and started laughing. (RLP: 2000)  
  
"I hope you know what you're doing, because if you beat me then my body and soul will be consumed by the shadows and I will cease to exist! And when my soul is consumed I'll never be able to return, I won't even be able to be reborn! You'll have been the cause of my eternal demise!" Hinata gasped, horrified at this news. The others all stared at Ryu in shock, uncertain how to respond. In that moment of heavy silence, punctuated only by the rolling of thunder, Hinata's bird-knight exploded. (HLP: 2050)   
  
Now it was once again Ryu's turn, and he just looked at her horrified face as he started off. Ihachi had been right, it had been exactly what he needed. Now she'd be thrown off her game, uncertain whether she could really deal the final blow or not. "I begin by playing Foolish Burial to place a monster from my deck into the cemetery!"   
  
He picked up his deck and fanned it out like a hand of cards, a massive one at that. He quickly spotted the monster he wanted and then shoved it into the cemetery. Finally he completed the move by reshuffling his deck and shoving it back into his deck holster. "Now I play the magic card, Nightmare Steel Cage!"   
  
A black cage of spikes erupted from the ground, creating a dome over Hinata and her monster. Now she was unable to attack for two of her turns, and he was unable to attack for the same length of time. It was a stall tactic, but in that time he could torment her. "End turn!"  
  
Hinata fiercely drew her card, desperately trying to come up with a solution to the current problem. Something wasn't right about this situation, but she didn't understand what was wrong. She couldn't just kill Ryu though, as much as she might think she wanted to. "Damn....what do I do? Screw it, I summon Gray Wing(1300/700)!"  
  
The grayish dragon let out a roar as it flapped down onto the field and let off a little bit of fire. Finally it settled down onto its clawed feet, waiting for a command. Unfortunately it was trapped underneath the spiked dome, unable to do anything. "I'll place one card face down to end my turn!" She declared her move and emptied her hand, watching as the card appeared in the dome.  
  
Ryu drew his card and smirked widely. He placed the card down onto the field casually, and grinned wickedly as he did so. All he needed was one more card to complete the strategy, and then victory would be his. "Come on girly, can't you take on my two cards? Don't tell me you're afraid to fight back against me....afraid to kill me. After all, I know the truth. You're in love with me!"  
  
She grimaced, unable to make a reply to this comment. It was true, what he said. She was in love with him, and he just thought of her as a little sister. He didn't have the kinds of feelings for her that she had for him, instead he felt them for that little Autumn girl. Holding back her anger, partially, she slammed her newest card onto the field. "Mystical Knight of Jackal(2700/1200)!"  
  
Her two monsters shattered as their power was given up to summon her strongest monster, the ferocious jackal wielding a deadly curved blade. Its effect would cause Ryu to reuse any monsters, and it would crush him easily. Not only was its strength great, but its effect was deadly as well. Any monster destroyed by it was returned to the top of its owners deck. "Since I can't attack I'll end my turn."  
  
As soon as she ended her turn the cage faded away in a dark wisp of black magic. Now both players were free to attack, and unless Ryu got something stronger, he'd be finished for good. The dark duelist picked up his card and then let out a hollow laugh as he used his card. "Love is something that is lost on me. All I am is a killer. Therefore I shall be the one to kill you! And to do so I shall use Spell of the Devil's Resurrection!"   
  
Yami gasped upon hearing that name, and suddenly he understood why Ryu had used Foolish Burial. He also knew exactly what monster had been placed in the cemetery. "Hinata, watch out, that card lets him revive one light type monster from either player's cemetery in face-up attack mode! It then becomes a dark type monster with a boost of five hundred points to both attack and defense!"  
  
Ryu let out another dark laugh and slowly a fog rose up around him. A black clawed foot reached up from the fog and slammed down onto the ground, followed by another. Slowly a very familiar long-necked creature raised its head, its very black head. "That's right! And now I raise the monster that means the most to me, and I raise it in its new and most glorious form, darkened just as my soul is! SO RISE, BLUE EYES BLACK DRAGON(3500/3000)!"  
  
The black dragon with blue eyes let out a fearsome roar, the sound of it shaking everyone gathered to their core. Saliva dripped from its razor sharp teeth, mingling with the rain. And as that saliva fell, steam issued forth. The saliva was like acid, and the ground was burning from it. "Attack with Black Burst Stream!"   
  
A wave of black lightning exploded from its mouth, racing across the field. The black lightning collided with Hinata's jackal and vaporized it, taking with it a big chunk of Hinata's life points, and much of her will to fight. "Now the end is certain! Go ahead and take your turn Hinata, but nothing you do can save you from my dark soul and my dark dragon!" (HLP: 750)  
  
She was on her knees, unable to comprehend what had become of the man she loved. He was going to kill her, and he was laughing. There was no way to stop him, and no reason to either. If she won then the man she loved would be gone forever. If she lost then her death would forever be on his soul. She wanted his soul to be pure, she wanted him to be happy. She didn't want him to suffer. "Pot of Greed."  
  
The two cards she had drawn stared back up at her, and she knew that it was her only way to win. But could she really do it...no, this wasn't the final blow. That she would worry about later. For the moment all she had to do was strike out at him and get rid of the threat of his dragon. "Revival Game! At a cost of seven hundred life points I can revive one monster onto the field, but its destroyed at the end of my second turn." (HLP: 50)  
  
Her Mystical Knight of Jackal reappeared on the field, this time ready to fight back. However the superior Blue Eyes Black Dragon wasn't ready to back down, and it issued forth a deafening roar that knocked her knight off its feet. "I play Beast Rage! This lets me increase one beast or beast-warrior's attack power by its defense power until the end of the turn. In return it loses its effect permanently!"   
  
The black dragon was suddenly drowned out by the roar of the now fifteen foot tall jackal knight. Its power increased greatly, reaching a level of thirty-nine hundred, four hundred more then the black dragon's power. It was enough for the moment, and it would have to do. "Jackal Cutter!"   
  
Two swift strokes of its sword were all that was needed for the jackal knight to cut Ryu's monster into ribbons. With its disappearance Ryu's field was cleared of everything but one face down card, and since he hadn't used it just then, it obviously couldn't be used in such a situation. (RLP: 1600)  
  
Ryu deftly plucked a card free from the top of his deck, and as quickly as the duel had begun he knew that it was over. Now his final strategy could be completed. Now Hinata would be finished for good. She didn't stand a chance! "I'll just place one card face down lover. Now let's see if you have the guts to attack and finish me off!"  
  
She slowly drew in her breath and drew a card, using it as soon as she had drawn it. Poison of the Old Man appeared, and her life points took a turn for the better as she drank one of the two potions the old man offered her. Her life points rose to a decent twelve hundred and fifty life points, enough to survive with. Now she had to decide whether to attack or not.  
  
If she attacked then he would die forever. If she didn't attack then she might die forever. Could she really risk it. Could she....but no. She knew what she had to do. She could see it in his eyes that he wanted her to attack, and she knew that though he was unafraid of death, he didn't intend to die. He was ready to finish her off, and she knew what his down cards were, she was certain of it.   
  
"Its all over. Jackal Cutter!" Her knight rushed forward, blade at the ready. Suddenly Ryu's two face down cards flipped up, and a ring of explosives appeared around her knight's neck. Everything was happening exactly as Ryu had expected.   
  
"My two face down cards are Ring of Destruction and Trap of Board Eraser! Ring of Destruction will destroy your monster and deal twenty-seven hundred points of damage to both of us. Trap of Board Eraser however will negate non-battle damage done to me this turn, meaning I win and you lose! So now you die!" The ring started spinning at incredible speeds, and it started to go off. As soon as it exploded, the duel was over.   
  
"Not quite! Activate placed card, Seven Tools of the Bandit!" Her life points dropped down to a meager amount, and a Swiss army knife shot out from her flipped card, heading straight towards Ryu's cards. (HLP: 250)  
  
Ryu gasped in horror, his eyes opened as wide as they could go. As soon as that knife sliced through his Ring of Destruction he'd be finished. There was no way left for him to stop her attack and win this duel, her attack would crush him completely! "NO! DON'T DO IT!"  
  
And then the knife sliced straight through the card that Hinata had intended for it to slice through. It cut straight through....Trap of Board Eraser! "What, what the hell?" Hinata gave him a small smile, and suddenly he understood. He knew the truth from that smile, from those eyes.   
  
She had known all along what cards he had placed. Somehow she had known. Therefore she had attacked, knowing that he would use them when she did. She had chosen before her attack that she would rather die with Ryu, then die without him. In this they would be together. "I love you Ryu. I love you too much. So goodbye forever."  
  
"DAMN YOU TO HELL! DAMN YOU BITCH, DAMN YOU FOREVER!" His words fell on deaf ears as the explosive force of his trap card ripped Hinata's monster apart, and showered the field in fire and destruction. Destruction, death, and chaos. Now they were gone, together.  
  
When the fire had gone and the smoke had faded the two duelists were revealed. They both lay on their backs, seemingly unharmed. But their blank eyes stared up at the cloudy sky, watching the rain fall. So they watched the rain fall forever, together in this moment, together at last. Together under the falling rain.  
  
Author's Notes: And yes, this is the beginning of the end. Hope you liked it, now read and review, as this is probably my last chapter to be posted for some time now. Luckily you got plenty over the last week.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Ryu: Humble, Spell of the Devil's Resurrection  
  
Hinata: Trap Negation, Revival Game, Beast Rage  
  
Other cards: Micro Laser is from the Sanctuary of the Sky set, and therefore will be released in America in the Ancient Sanctuary set. Gundman of Landstar and Landstar shot are used by Joey in the KC Grand Prix arc. 


	29. My Brother's Savior

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh  
  
Author's Note: Here comes two duels, all in one chapter. Hope you enjoy them!   
  
Quote of the Chapter: "Kiss my shiny metal ass!" -Bender, from Futarama  
  
Chapter Twenty-Eight: My Brother's Savior  
  
With the end of the violent duel between Hinata and Ryu, it had come time for the next duel to begin. But who was to be next, that was something that needed to be decided first. And deep within the mind of Mokuba Kaiba, he knew who he had to duel. If he was going to win, he'd have to duel the only person his own age. Using a created copy of his brother's deck, he'd never lose against someone his own age. "Hey blonde girl, I challenge you!"  
  
Rebecca Hopkins glanced over her shoulder to find a boy about her age with long black hair approaching her. She recognized him as the younger brother of Seto Kaiba, and she knew he had no dueling experience. He would be easy meat, so easy she almost felt sorry for having to crush him. "Okay, we'll do that. You can go first."  
  
Mokuba awkwardly fitted the DD2 to his arm, glad that his brother had made them adjust automatically. Once he was ready he shuffled the facsimile of his brother's deck, and watched as Rebecca shuffled her deck. Then he drew his opening hand of six cards. "Vorse Raider(1900/1200) in attack mode, and one card face down!"   
  
The two cards appeared, on in front of the other, and Rebecca just yawned. Starting with such a high powered attacker was an amateur's move, but also something Seto Kaiba would boldly do. They were definitely related. "I summon Fire Princess(1300/1500) in defense mode, and set two cards face down. Back to you Mokuba."   
  
The red clad woman appeared, crouching on her card in defense mode. Two magic or trap cards appeared behind her, but Mokuba wasn't worried. His face down card was all he needed to gain the early lead in this duel. And he would do it with his brother's favorite card.   
  
"Activate face down card, Enemy Controller! By paying 1000 life points I can choose one of two effects, and I'm going to sacrifice your monster along with mine to summon Blue Eyes White Dragon(3000/2500)!" The two monsters shattered under the influence of Mokuba's quick-play magic card, and they were replaced by the mighty white engine of destruction that was the Blue Eyes. (MLP: 7000)  
  
"Attack her life points directly!" Those watching groaned as he made a stupid decision, sending his dragon against two unknown traps without even a single side thought. It wasn't smart planning at all, it was just plan amateurish. He was gonna get stopped playing like that.  
  
"Open face down cards, Scapegoat and Gravity Bind!" The two cards flipped up, one generating four different colored slumbering goat tokens, and the other generating a force of gravity so great that any monster with a level of four or over couldn't move under it. And now the Blue Eyes was trapped beneath that power.   
  
Mokuba groaned, realizing how he had walked into something easy to avoid. Now his brother's favorite monster was trapped by its own increased weight, unable to move, let alone attack. He had no way out yet, but he could do one last thing. "I'll play a card face down. End turn!"  
  
As soon as he got the right monster, Rebecca wouldn't know what had hit her. His face down card would devastate her so completely that she wouldn't be able to continue with the duel. Such was the incredible power of his brother's deck. With a copy of it, he knew he could win no matter what!   
  
Rebecca picked up her card, giving her a total of four cards in hand. She smiled at the sight of Lady Assailant of the Flames, a card which would be doing serious damage to Mokuba quite shortly. However for the moment she'd have to wait on its effect since it had to be flipped. "I'll place one card in face down defense mode."  
  
The card appeared horizontally in front of her, and Mokuba grimaced. Obviously he had been hoping she would mount an attack, but she'd have to be stupid to attack a Blue Eyes head on without some uber-powerful monster. No, she'd just stick to slightly more...underhanded tactics to win this and every other duel she was in.  
  
"Now I'll use one last card before ending my turn, and that card is Ookazi, which deals eight hundred points of direct damage. Let's turn up the heat on this duel right now!" Mokuba gasped as the burning house roared its flames over him, nearly scorching his skin and lighting up the sky. With its presence came an end to the rain, but that was all. He was the one suffering from it. (MLP: 6200)  
  
Slowly Mokuba drew his card, and grinned as he did so. Now he had the method for destroying all her strategies with dreadful ease. And all it would take was a combination of his face down card, and one monster. "I summon Sangan(1000/600) to the field!"   
  
A little hairball appeared, quite similar to a Kuriboh except that it was extremely fearsome and had long reaching clawed arms and three twisted looking eyes. It was a creature of evil, that was for sure. But it would serve its purpose to let him win this duel, and that was what mattered. "Sangan will destroy a token!"  
  
His little monster rushed across the field and raked its claws across the face of the red goat. The little goat was instantly destroyed, leaving her with one less monster to defend herself. That was good enough for the moment, because he'd be destroying the others later. "I'll just place one card face down and end my turn."  
  
Rebecca casually picked up her newest card, delighted to spot yet another deadly creature to put at her disposal. This was going to be very interesting, and very deadly if she pulled it off. "I flip Lady Assailant of the Flames!" The fairly attractive blonde woman appeared on the field, and tilted her hat to the side to get some more sun. Then she raised her hands and fire exploded from her fingers, streaking straight towards Mokuba.   
  
The young boy let out a cry of pain as the fire struck him, sending him falling to his knees in surprise and in pain. He hadn't realized how real his brother's system seemed, this was more then he had thought it could be, and he hadn't even been attacked. It was just her monster's effect.  
  
"When Lady Assailant of the Flames(1500/1000) is flipped, I can send three cards from the top of my deck out of the game to deal eight hundred points of damage to your life points. And so I did." She smiled and clapped her hands, overjoyed that he had been unable to stop her move. Now she was free to do what she wanted to, and what she wanted was to do some serious damage to him. (MLP: 5400)  
  
"Now we're gonna really turn up the heat. And to do so I'm going to play this awesome field card, Molten Destruction!" In a sudden explosion the field around them and in front of them was covered by molten lava, and spurts of fire shot into the air around them. The heat was practically unbearable, but its effects were worth it.   
  
"With my field card in play, all fire types gain five hundred attack points and lose four hundred defense points. Better yet, while the field is fire, my fire types gain other advantages. As a matter of fact, in this case, thanks to this realm and these rules, my lady is immune to the effects of Gravity Bind while Molten Destruction is active!" And as she said, her words were true. The blonde woman basked in the glow of fire, feeding off it, and was unhindered by the pull of gravity.  
  
Mokuba wasn't quite prepared to lose that many life points, not when he was already so far behind. He wanted to use his first face down card, but if he did it now, he'd be worse off. He'd wait a turn until he'd successfully built up his forces, then he'd unleash it. "Lady Assailant of the Flames, attack and destroy Sangan!"  
  
Her lady gave a satisfied nod and then unleashed flare after flare of fire, intent on incinerating the furry creature, or turning it into so much charcoal. However at the last moment Mokuba's face down card picked up, defending him. It was a little ring that blocked the flames. "Ring of Defense prevents me from taking any damage this turn, so I'm safe for now."  
  
Rebecca nodded and selected from her hand the card she had drawn this turn. Then she placed it onto the field, watching as it appeared in holographic form, horizontally next to one of her goat tokens. Luckily for her, and unluckily for Mokuba, his attack had cleared the way for this new monster. "Just that one monster in defense mode, and that will be all for my turn."  
  
Mokuba grimaced, knowing that in this next turn he'd have to lose a chunk of his life points to carry out his plan. It would hurt, but it was necessary. Otherwise he'd never be able to defeat her, as she was proving to be quite deadly. Now his plan had to go into action, and he had the cards to put him on the map.  
  
"I summon Enraged Battle Ox(1700/1000) and equip it with the magic card Demotion, dropping its level by two. Enraged Battle Ox and Sangan will take out two more tokens!" The two monsters swept across the field, one sweeping with its claws, and the other striking down with its massive axe. Two more goats were blasted into oblivion, the yellow and the light blue one, leaving only one last one remaining.   
  
"Those goat tokens are nothing, and all you've done is given me another target for my lady. Destroying defense monster won't help you at all because you can't deal...what the heck?" Her surprise came from the tinkling sound of life points dropping. Her eyes fell to her duel disk, and the white numbers on it clearly displayed that she was losing life points. (RLP: 6300)  
  
Mokuba smirked, surprising everyone with how much he looked like his brother when he did that. Tristan swore and made a comment that sounded suspiciously like, 'He's a mini-Kaiba!'. "Confused? And here I thought you were smart. See, Enraged Battle Ox didn't like your goats, so he used his effect on them. His effect you ask? He can deal damage even if your monster is in defense, and so can any other beast-warrior while he's on the field. So your tokens are now a liability!"   
  
Nobody watching knew who to cheer for. After all, neither of them had done anything wrong. Though a few of them might hold things against Mokuba for who his brother was, most of them either didn't know, or didn't care that he was related to the arrogant bastard known as Seto Kaiba. "I'll end my turn. And I'll win this duel and prove that I've got what it takes to defeat that bitch, because I'm nearly as strong as my big brother!"  
  
The sudden explosion of laughter shocked them all, and all eyes turned to watch Malik laugh his head off at the top of the steps. Suddenly becoming aware of everyone starring at him, the veiny freak turned his gaze upon them, smirking as his right eye twitched. "Who cares whether you're nearly as strong as your brother, it won't help!"  
  
Mokuba turned to the freaky white haired duelist and flashed him the finger. He wasn't going to take crap from some loser like this guy. He hadn't even made it past the first round of Battle City. But then again...neither had his brother. "Of course it will! My brother is the strongest duelist in the world, and anyone who faces him is in for a serious stomping!"  
  
Nobody felt it necessary to remind Mokuba that his brother had lost several times. To Yugi, to Pegasus, to Drake, and secretly to Joey. No, that was hardly something anybody would remind him, after all, the kid was on a roll. However his words had no effect on Malik other then to make him laugh harder. "What's so funny?"  
  
"You! Your brother may be a strong duelist, but against Ihachi his strength was nothing. I watched her crush him in one turn! Her first move of their duel was all she needed to beat Seto Kaiba! That is the extent of her great power! Your strength is nothing next to your brother's, so I doubt it would require even a flick of her eye to defeat you in a duel!" His laughter exploded again, and now everyone was silent.  
  
This was overwhelming news. The thought that the great Seto Kaiba could be defeated in a single turn was astounding. None of them could have accomplished such a thing, not even the best of them. Most of those present would have been beaten by Kaiba in a duel. So how could any of them fight back in a duel against someone who could crush Kaiba in one turn?   
  
Rebecca shook this off first amongst the two of them. She didn't know if she could defeat Ihachi in a duel, but she didn't intend to worship that crazy women. So she'd win this due, win whatever others she had to, and then she'd duel her hardest against Ihachi. Even if she failed it wouldn't matter, because she would have tried. "I'm not giving up, so neither should you Mokuba! As long as we try that's all that matters! Giving up won't accomplish anything, you have to keep fighting for what you believe in!"  
  
Slowly she drew her card and settled her steely gaze upon the boy's. He gave her a steady nod, and she continued her turn, knowing he was ready to continue as well. "I play Fire Trap! For each of my standby phases it will collect fire power, and when I chose to I can destroy it during your turn to deal damage to your life points equal to the number of phases times three hundred!"  
  
The card appeared on Mokuba's field, a little red bomb ticking away, absorbing the heat around it into itself. When it went off, it was bound to do some serious damage to his life points. So he would have to win this duel before she set it off. "Now that I've done that, I'll flip my set monster, Princess of Tsurugi(900/700)!"   
  
The monster's effect went off, dealing five hundred damage for each magic or trap set on Mokuba's field. And because of the single card set there, he was going to take five hundred damage. And now that she had finished that up, she had one more move to make. "Lady Assailant, destroy Sangan!" (MLP: 2900)  
  
Flames exploded around the demonic creature, but as it was burned away by the flames, she discovered something very critical. Dark spores were bursting from its body and attacking her deck! She was being attacked by a virus! "Since you destroy Sangan I can place a certain monster in my hand, but you also triggered the Crush Card Virus! So now every monster in your deck with fifteen hundred or more attack points is destroyed!"  
  
She quickly searched through her deck and plucked out the infected monsters, dumping them into the cemetery. With that done she reshuffled her deck and placed it back in its slot. He had certainly pulled the wool over her eyes with that move. "I'll set a card face down. Your turn Mokuba."  
  
Mokuba drew his card, and then grinned as he slapped down the card he had selected from Sangan's effect. In a burst of light a very special monster appeared, a man in strange armor that looked like it belonged on a dragon. "Lord of Dragons(1200/1100) in attack mode! And with it in play my Blue Eyes is immune to your Gravity Bind! Blue Eyes, Enraged Battle Ox, attack!"   
  
The two monsters launched their attacks, the Battle Ox charging in to cut down the last token with its axe and the Blue Eyes launching a wave of white lightning to go direct. But at the last moment three robed men appeared and deflected the attack. "Waboku stops your attack."  
  
With Mokuba's turn over Rebecca picked up her newest card, and then casually shifted her Princess into defense mode. Now was the moment to show him the mistake that he had made in placing his Lord of Dragons into attack mode. It might protect his dragon....but it was perfectly vulnerable. "I summon Injection Fairy Lily(400/1500)! And I have her attack your Lord of Dragon's with her effect!"  
  
The little woman picked up her giant needle and sat on it as it flew across the field and stabbed straight through the armored spellcaster, destroying him utterly. And to Mokuba's surprise both of their life points took a serious dip, and it was then that he remember her brother explaining Lily's effect. (RLP: 4300, MLP: 700)  
  
Mokuba drew his card, and everybody was worried. They knew that in two more turns after this Mokbua would lose even if he didn't get attacked again. She had two more turns to wait before her Fire Trap could obliterate him. "One card face down, and attack the last token my Ox!"  
  
The beast ripped through the goat token, shattering it into pieces. It also tore a chunk out of Rebecca's life points, making them come closer to being even. It also made it harder for her to use Lily's effect. She could barely afford it now. (RLP: 2600) "Ha, lets see you win now!"  
  
Rebecca just smirked and drew another card, well aware that he had made a severe mistake. Now all she needed was this turn to win, and even if he deflected her attack in her next turn she could win. "You made a mistake in leaving your Ox in attack mode, because now I can crush it and the last of your life points in one sweep. Just in case I'll place one card, and then attack using Lily's effect!"   
  
Her lily zoomed across the field on her needle, ready to strike down Mokuba's oxen monster. However she was stopped by Mokuba's face down card, a strange spinning barrier that deflected the attack. "Guard of Card lets me discard one card from my hand to negate damage this turn." He dumped his card, and she was forced to end her turn after that. (RLP: 600)  
  
"You made a mistake in trying to succeed against a copy of my brother's deck. And her's why, Enraged Battle Ox, destroy Lily and finish her off once and for all!" The ox leapt across the field and slammed down with his axe, intent on slicing her lily in half. However at the last second a barrier sprung up, one that Mokuba recognized as a Mirror Force. And then his two monsters were shattered into pieces.   
  
"I'll just set one card face down. That's all." He placed his card, and then his turn ended. All he had to do was hope that he could attain victory, otherwise he wouldn't be able to save his brother. He had to win, for his brother! There was no other choice! Losing was not an option!   
  
Rebecca drew a card, and counted up the turns on her Fire Trap. Now was the moment of truth, the moment when Mokuba fell and she moved on. But did she really want to do that to him? Could she do that and feel right? The answer was yes. Ihachi had her grandfather, so she had to win. For his sake. "I destroy Fire Trap to deal nine hundred damage!"   
  
The bomb exploded, tossing Mokuba high up in a blaze of fire. He hit the ground hard, and from his mouth issued a black wind. She watched in horror as the black wind pulled with it something white and glowing, and took that into the temple. His soul had been consumed! "Here I come grandpa, I'm going to save you!"  
  
She charged up to the temple, and up the top steps. Now was going to be her moment of triumph. They watched her speak to Malik, and then before the conversation had gone too far, Ihachi beckoned from inside. As the next duel was about to get under way the heard a cry of pain from inside the temple, and then an explosion. Moments later Rebecca's lifeless body was hurled down the temple steps. She was gone, and so was Mokuba.   
  
The next duel had already been determined. The next duelist who had done the deciding was Serenity. Wearing the oversized leather jacket she had chosen a duelist she had heard her brother talk about dueling, how he had been the first duelist he had dueled without help from Yugi. She could beat him, with Drake's training she knew she get beat Rex Raptor.  
  
The two now stood across from each other, Rex leering at her quite obviously. She ignored his leering and activated her duel disk, watching as he followed suit. Then the two players drew their cards and selected their deck masters. Rex had chosen Two-Headed King Rex, and she had chosen St. Joanne. "Alright honey, I'll start this duel off and show you how it goes."  
  
"I summon Gagagigo(1850/1000), and since it's a reptile its perfect fodder for Ultra Evolution Pill, which lets me sacrifice it to special summon a dinosaur from my hand. So meet Black Tyranno(2600/1800) which gains five hundred attack points from my deck master. Lastly I'll set a card down. How's that for an opening move huh?"   
  
His giant black skinned tyrannosaurus dominated the field, letting out irritating roars as it stooped low to glare at Serenity. She wasn't intimidated by this. Drake had told her to never get intimidated by monsters. Because no matter how many times your opponent said that they were summoning the 'ultimate monster', it was never true, because there was always a way to win.  
  
She drew her first card and smiled when she saw what it was. Drake had said she was a lot like this card, and she believed him. But she had another card that she felt was more like her. However this would do at the moment. "I place two cards face down and summon Mystic Elf(800/2000) in attack mode!"  
  
Rex let out a harsh laugh as she summoned the blue skinned elf in attack mode. Summoning a monster that weak in attack mode? What a stupid move! She was cute that was for sure, but she obviously didn't know anything about Duel Monsters. "Interesting move, but watch me and I'll show you how its really done!"  
  
He drew his next card and grinned, knowing as soon as he did that he could go on a serious dino rampage with his new cards. This was going to be all too easy. "I special summon Gilasaurus(1400500/400) using its effect, and then sacrifice for Dark Triceratops(2400500/1000)!" A tall velociraptor was special summoned to the field, and then sacrificed for a twisted three horned dark dinosaur, which had a trample effect.   
  
"Lets get some dino stompage in! I'll have my two monsters attack!" His two dinosaurs charged in, ready to do some serious damage. But they didn't get far because Serenity calmly activated one of her face down cards, which turned out to be Waboku. He grimaced and declared the end of his turn. Not like she could do anything to him.  
  
Serenity drew her card and smiled recognizing the card she had drawn. This was certainly going to be interesting, and it was going to be very effective. "I summon Cinderella(300/300) whose effect summons Carriage(500/800) to the field in defense mode, allowing her to attack directly as long is its in play."   
  
A woman clad in an attractive yellow dress appeared, followed by a carriage pulled by two white horses. And of course it was a carriage made out of a pumpkin, which finished up the fairy tale imagery. "Also, when Cinderella is summoned I can equip Glass Slippers to one monster on your field!"   
  
Rex burst out laughing as two glass slippers materialized on his Black Tyranno. Considering the size and shape of its feet they didn't form there. Instead they formed hanging off of its minuscule hands, which were the only part of it small enough for the slippers. "Cute it may be, but it won't do anything to save you!"   
  
Serenity smiled, revealing exactly what she had intended with the move as his monster's stats started dropping, finally coming to a rest at twenty-one hundred attack points. "When Glass Slippers are equipped to your monster it loses one thousand attack points, and when your monster is destroyed my Cinderella will get them back, and gain one thousand points." Rex could only gulp, realizing the severity of that notion. A monster with thirteen hundred attack points that could attack directly? He'd be screwed!  
  
"Now I activate Hope of Light, which increases my Mystic Elf by half the attack points of what was the strongest monster on your field at the beginning of the turn. And since at the beginning of the turn your Tyranno had thirty-one hundred points, she gains fifteen hundred and fifty points!" Rex gulped again as the once weak Mystic Elf shot up to an impressive twenty-three fifty attack strength. Enough to destroy his Tyranno and then transfer the slippers to Cinderella.   
  
"Destroy Black Tyranno!" The elfin woman raised her palms and started chanting, gathering her magic together. At last she cast out her hands, and a pulse of light shot from her hands and shattered the dinosaur, dealing minimal damage to Rex. Then the slippers appeared on their rightful place, on Cinderella's feet. (RLP: 7750)  
  
"I'll set one card face down, and have Cinderella attack directly!" Her female monster casually glided across the field, her dress swishing as she went. Rex followed her as she glided straight up to him, and raised on gloved hand. Then to everyone' surprise she slapped him across the face, doing some serious damage and leaving a red hand print. People cheered and howled with laughter. (RLP: 6450)  
  
Rex grimaced, not wanting to be outdone by some nobody cute girl. He was a top ranked duelist, he couldn't lose like this, he just couldn't! He wouldn't! "I set one card face down, and attack your Cinderella with my Dark Triceratops!" The monster charged across the field, horns at the ready, however so was Serenity.  
  
"Activate trap card, A Counter Shield! By sacrificing Mystic Elf I can increase my Cinderella's attack power by its defense strength!" The elf vanished in a flare of light, and suddenly the woman in the gown's attack power shot up to a devastating thirty-three hundred. And because Rex had already declared an attack, his dino crashed into her and was slapped aside, destroyed immediately. (RLP: 6050)  
  
As his turn ended he heard the calls, heard the laughter. People were calling him pathetic! Saying he didn't deserve to be called a top ranked duelist! It wasn't fair, how could he possibly be beaten by an amateur no-name duelist....again! "I'm going to win this duel in two attacks, so watch out Rex, because I have some people to save. I'll place one card face down and attack directly!"  
  
Cinderella made her swishing glide across the field, ready to smack him again. When she did he would lose more then half of his remaining life points, and bring him into striking range of defeat. But he didn't intend to fail like that! "Activate placed cards, Nutrient Z and Virus X! Z raised my life points by four thousand before you would deal two thousand or more damage, and if you would deal more then two thousand damage X deals damage to your life points equal to the amount I would take!"   
  
Cinderella completed her slap, but in this case it was too much. Rex gained life points instead of losing them, and instead Serenity was taking damage from the attack. She had fallen into a deadly trap that was going to put her opponent in the lead! (RLP: 6750, SLP: 4700)  
  
Rex picked up his card, satisfied that he had proved himself to not be pathetic. And now h had a way to get more cards. Just what he needed. "I play Life Slashing Treasure, which lets me draw five cards. On my fifth turn I'll have to discard my hand though." He drew his five cards with the swift practiced ease of a conditioned duelist, and he examined them, knowing what he needed to do to win.   
  
"I set up two cards, and summon Compy(300500/200), which I can sacrifice to destroy you Cinderella!" Two cards appeared face down in front of him, and then a tiny swarm of dinosaurs exploded from one of his cards, and the little creatures jumped all over Cinderella, destroying her with ease. Now Serenity's best weapon was gone.   
  
Serenity drew a card, and then was forced to simply set her card face down and end her turn. Once that was done Rex drew a card, bringing him to the second turn before he would have to discard his hand. He summoned a fierce looking dinosaur named Garanadora(1900/400) which had a special effect. "Garanadora increases my life points by one thousand when he's summoned, but when he's destroyed I'll lose two thousand points." (RLP: 7750)  
  
"Now I equip him with Twin Swords of Flashing Light, discarding a card to do so. He loses the five hundred points bonus from my deck master, but gets the ability to attack twice in the battle phase! So I attack your Carriage!" He zipped across the field with his twin blades, and cut the pumpkin up into tiny pieces. But to his surprise Serenity's life points rose. (SLP: 4950)  
  
"When one of my monster's is destroyed in battle my deck master increases my life points by half of my monster's attack strength. And now that you've destroyed a monster, I activate Three Blind Mice, which gets me three mice tokens(300/300) in defense mode." Three little mice wearing dark glasses were summoned to the field, and Garanadora sliced up another one before returning to his spot on Rex's side of the field. Now things were a little more even. (SLP: 5100)  
  
Serenity picked up her next card and looked at the three cards she now held. She couldn't do anything overly effective, but she could get rid of some cards and possibly set-up a good situation for later. "I'll set one monster in defense mode. Now I play Soul Release, removing five of your monsters in the cemetery from the game!" Rex grimaced as he watched Gagigo, Black Tyranno, Dark Triceratops, Gilasaurus, and Compy vanish from the game. Then a card appeared face down in front of her.  
  
Rex drew his card and then jumped for joy, recognizing the monster he had just drawn. Now a strategy he had going was going to come into effect! And he was going to slaughter her easily with his deadly creatures. "Get ready to meet your end, because I unveil my face-down magic card, Gravity Axe-Grarl!" The card flipped up, and a heavy-bladed axe on a pedestal appeared, a bright glow descending from the heavens upon it.   
  
Serenity stared at the card, trying to think of all the things Drake had taught her. Never had a he mentioned this card, so either he didn't know about it or he didn't consider it dangerous enough to be noted. "What is it?"  
  
Rex grinned and turned around the other card in his hand, revealing a high level monster with deadly attack strength. It was also definitely a dinosaur. "I need Gravity Axe-Grarl on the field to summon Guardian Grarl! And he gets a 500 point bonus from the axe, which prevents you from changing the modes of your monsters while its in play. So here comes Grarl(3500/1000)!" The powerfuly muscular dinosaur man was summoned to the field. He pulled the axe free of the pedestal and gave it a test swing, roaring with satisfaction.   
  
"But how? Your monster is a high level creature, you can't summon it without a sacrifice!" She tried to keep the panic out of her voice, but it was starting to creep in. She knew she had to remain calm, Drake had said so, but with such a powerful monster coming into play, how could she not be worried?   
  
"Its simple, Grarl's effect is that he can be special summoned if he's the only card in my hand! So now I'll attack your two monsters with Garanadora, destroying them completely. Then I'll attack directly with Grarl!" Garanadora charged across the field, slicing both her monsters into pieces using his two blades. One slice from each sufficed to destroy them. Then Grarl jumped towards Serenity, swinging his blade down towards her.  
  
"Reveal face down card, Shrink!" She had learned this trick from Drake, and he particularly liked using it. The massive dinosaur suddenly was cut down to a tiny little dinosaur, who looked like a toy. His axe sliced at her, but it was now so small that it couldn't even cut her skin. However it was still capable of doing damage to her. (SLP: 3950)  
  
"Go ahead and take your turn, not like any card can help you!" Rex threw back his head and laughed in that annoying voice of his. The worst part was, Serenity was certain that Rex was right. She didn't know if any card in her deck could help her. How was she supposed to know anyways?   
  
To her surprise she heard the answer in her head. It was Drake's voice, the memory of what he had said. 'The next factor is the future, or what might be. Those are the cards in your deck. If you're going to be a good duelist you have to know every card in your deck by heart so you know what cards you have left that could help, and what the chances of you drawing them are.' She smiled slightly at the memory, accepting the words as the truth.   
  
She reached into the recesses of her mind, digging deep into her memory to remember exactly the cards she had chosen for this deck, chosen with Drake's help in fact. There was one card....Drake had told her it was effective, but risky. She had decided to choose it anyways, and he had told her... 'You don't have to follow my every word when it comes to building your deck. Never do that. What you have to know is that when you create a deck it becomes uniquely yours, it becomes a part of your soul. So if that card suits you, choose it, and make it part of you.'   
  
Now all she had to do was draw that card. Summoning up the confident images of her brother and Drake, she drew her card and looked down at it. Her face lit up with joy at the image on the card, and she thrust it forwards, displaying it to Rex. "I play Deepest Impact! This will destroy every card on both of our fields and reduce our life point's by half!"   
  
Meteors rained down from the sky, obliterating all of Rex's monsters. Luckily for her she had no remaining cards to worry about. And of course Rex took two thousand points of damage because Garanadora had been destroyed. Now things were definitely more equal. "One card face down. Now lets see you recover!" (SLP: 1975, RLP: 1875)  
  
Rex grimaced and drew his next card, but upon doing so his face lit up again. He had this duel won! He was going to live through this thing even if it meant beating this cute girl and ending her life. He wouldn't let anybody beat him and take his life! "I summon Razor Wing Terror(2000/500)! Now I'll have it deplete the rest of your life points!"  
  
The giant winged dinosaur rushed down at her, beak outstretched as to tear her flesh from her body. However she was ready with her face down card, another trick taught to her by Drake. "Dark Magic Revival! I'll activate Shrink from my cemetery!" Yet another toy dinosaur attacked her, doing no physical damage whatsoever, however it still did its piece to her life points. (SLP: 975)  
  
It was now do or die. All around her people were worrying about her, feeling things that she didn't want to think about. She doubted that any of them thought she could do it, she knew that was the case. Rex was a high ranked duelist....and she wasn't anybody. She was nobody worth knowing...or so she had always thought. Drake had changed her mind. He had changed her attitude, he had changed her life. "Drake....help me with this one....please."  
  
(Flashback!)  
  
The water sparkled in the sun, and several feet away Kai was making laps through the water, working himself to exhausting but still keeping himself going. At the shore the two others leaned up against the rocks, examining a large group of cards. They were idly chatting as they talked to each other.  
  
Drake had made no comments that she was so close to him, shoulder to shoulder, and while she didn't know how he felt, it was still good to be around him. "So, I was wondering about something." He looked up from the cards and looked into her eyes. That was one of the things she liked, his violet stare was so intense, so true. She practically felt she had fallen in love with those eyes.   
  
"I'm open to any questions. So go ahead, shoot." She smiled and pointed to his deck, letting her hand drop on top of his as it examined his cards. He didn't react to her touch, but he did react as soon as she asked her question.   
  
"What card in your deck do you think is most like you?" Drake smiled and picked through his cards, finally coming across the card that he wanted. He held it out to her, revealing the blonde haired man wielding a sword.   
  
"Easy, its Neo the Magical Swordsman. He's not the strongest monster in my deck, and he's got no effect, but he's like me for a different reason. We're both fighters, and we both like magic and using it." She smiled, agreeing that the card fit him. The person on the card didn't look like him, but that didn't really matter. It was the sentiment that mattered.   
  
"I've got another question as well, on a different topic though. So umm....how far have you gone with a girl before?" Drake's attention was suddenly anywhere other then her, and he slowly started gliding away through the water. She quirked one eyebrow and started moving after him.   
  
"I've suddenly become deaf and blind, sorry, can't answer any questions right now. Lalalalalalalalalalala!" Serenity laughed and swept her arm around, picking up a wave of water and splashing it at Drake. He crashed over his head and he let out a loud belly laugh. He retaliated by pushing some water at her, catching her right in the face with it.   
  
The water fight sent the two of them crashing into the focused Kai, and soon enough he was entangled in the fight. There was laughter in the air, and everything was happy for that moment. "Say...I wonder what Kai's answer to your question would be." And with that the battle redoubled its efforts, laughter reaching to the highest heights of the world.   
  
(End Flashback)  
  
"I hope you're ready Rex, because I summon my favorite monster, Nia the Magical Swordswoman(1300/1400) and since I have no other monsters I now special summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000) in attack mode!" A tall long haired blonde woman shimmered into view, her long rapier held at the ready, a blue glow emanating from it. She wore fitting blue armor, and was shortly joined by the blonde magic using swordsman.   
  
"Nia, attack Razor Wing Terror!" Rex couldn't help but laugh as the blonde girl slashed her blade through the air, sending a stream of blue energy streaking towards his dinosaur. He fully expected her to be obliterated, but to his shock the energy shattered his monster completely! (RLP: 1575)  
  
"Confused? Well when Neo is on the field with Nia, she gets the ability to gain two hundred attack points for each monster removed from the game. And since I removed five monsters with my Soul Release her power is at 2300! And now that the field is cleared, its about to be over!" Rex's eyes widened in horror, understanding his impending doom. It didn't make sense, how could this nobody have defeated him?  
  
Everyone watching was surprised. The girl that stood there, black leather jacket flaring in the wind, was not the same sweet innocent girl that they all knew. This was a confident woman, ready to take on the world. A strong duelist who let no challenge be to great for her. "Wow...there's just something about a girl with a duel disk that's just hot."   
  
This comment snapped everybody out of their inner monologues, and they all turned to stare at the perpetrator of this rather....awkward comment. The strained silence that followed as a sign of that. Kai gulped as all those eyes came to rest on him and he backed up a step involuntarily. "Did I say that out loud?" Several heads nodded and he hung his head in shame.  
  
"Its over Rex, because the strength I have comes from more then just myself! It comes from my teacher, my friends, my family! Each of them is here with me, and my strongest feelings are embodied by these two monsters. With them, I can't lose! NEO, FINISH HIM OFF!" The blonde swordsman nodded and raised his blade overhead, chanting a spell as he did so.   
  
Neo struck his blade to the ground, and the ground rumbled with the strike. The ground rolled up, moving in a straight line from where Neo had struck with his blade. The rolling earth reached Rex and hurled him high into the sky, where he fell back down onto his back, unconscious. (RLP: 0)  
  
A dark wind whirled out from the temple and wrapped itself around Rex's prone body. After several moments it pulled free, a small white glowing object trapped within it. Rex's soul was now in the clutches of Ihachi, now his life was ended.   
  
Serenity turned to stare up at the temple, watching the black wind reenter it. There was here destination, but she wouldn't enter it on her own. Together they would win, together they had the strength. When this was all over, they would all enter that temple together and defeat Ihachi. "Drake, wherever you are....thank you."  
  
Author's Note: Hehehe, fun neh? And Nick...told you I'd get it posted today!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Rebecca: Fire Trap  
  
Serenity: Nia the Magical Swordswoman, Hope of Light, 3 Blind Mice  
  
Rex: Razor Wing Terror, Virus X, Compy  
  
Cards from Doom, Noa's Arc and KC Grand Prix: Cinderella, Glass Slippers, Carriage, A Counter Shield, Deepest Impact 


	30. Atlantis and the Game Masters

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh, if I did I'd be Mr. Bigshot and very rich and only supervising the creation of Yugioh R. Instead I'd be turning this into a manga....or perhaps just rolling in the money I've made from a hugely succesful manga, anime, collectible card game, and now even a movie. Yes indeed, I'd be loaded. But....I'm not because I don't own Yugioh. Damn the facts!  
  
Author's Note: Hehehe, originally, as a few people I commented to know, I had intended for one part of this chapter to be a Dungeon Dice Monsters battle. But because I couldn't find enough information on the booster sets for DDM, I was unable to do so. Just thought I should let you all know.  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "I think I'll leave the deficit alone. Its big enough to take care of itself." -Ronald Reagen  
  
Chapter Twenty-Nine: Atlantis and the Game Masters  
  
The first true victory for the side of good had sort of been scored. Serenity was with the good guys, but there was nothing that said depriving Rex of his life was a good thing. Nobody was happy about it, but it was what need to happen at the moment. And so was the next duel.   
  
The two duelists locked eyes, somehow knowing that it was to them that this duel now reached out. What the outcome was to be was unknown to them, but that didn't matter. What did matter was the here and the now, that this was what was. Here was what made the difference, now tilted the scales.   
  
Mako Tsunami and Tea Gardner set themselves up, DD2s locking into position as the crowd filtered around them, ready to watch another duel. Everyone knew the league that Mako was in, but quite a number of others knew the league that Tea was in. And according to the now, the scales were very disproportionately balanced.   
  
"No Deck Masters, I don't want to gain any added advantage in this duel. But be warned Tea, I don't intend to go easy on you." In one swift motion Mako thunked his deck into his duel disk, and it scanned the deck making its final preparations. Finally ready he drew his opening hand of five cards, and his life point counter made its way to its starting level. (MLP: 8000)  
  
"We'll see who has the advantage Mako, because I'm going to be going first!" She too inserted her deck into the disk and watched her life points count up. Then she drew six cards, ready to start this duel and gain access to the temple to help out her friends. It didn't matter that Mako was a more experienced duelist. With her friends behind her, she couldn't lose! (TLP: 8000)  
  
With that said she held her hand of cards up to her face, and silently started to worry. All she had were a bunch of mostly useless cards and a semi-decent monster. Well, she might as well bluff her way out. He'd never attack if he thought she had a host of defenses set-up. Yeah, that was the ticket!   
  
What she wasn't aware of was that she was not a trained duelist, and therefore she hadn't learned how to control her facial features. She showed her feelings on the outside, easily displaying for all the trained duelists to see. She was nervous about her hand, and that meant Mako had the advantage.   
  
"I'll set three magic or trap cards down on the field and one monster in defense mode. Lets see you get past that!" Everyone rolled their eyes, seeing past the bluff as her three face down cards appeared, followed shortly by a reversed monster card. Now that her turn was out of the way, it was time for Mako to take command of this duel, first turn with ease.  
  
"Tea, you should know by now the story about my father. That being the case you should know that the waters of the ocean can quickly become incredibly violent. When the ocean does so nothing is safe from its wrath, and even the greatest defenses of mankind are no match. Now I bid you to watch the power of the ocean's wrath come forth to consume your defenses. This magic card represents all the deep hatred the ocean has and what it can do to any who are unprepared for it. It is...HEAVY STORM!"   
  
Tea watched in horrified fascination as the wind started to pick up, quickly surging into gale force power. Her face down cards rattled, unsteady under the power of his magic card. At last the might of the storm became too much, and her cards were lifted into the air and blown back. They shattered into tiny pieces, leaving her only defense as her single set monster.  
  
"I set one card face down and I summon the mighty Mermaid Knight(1500/800) in attack mode!" The monster burst onto the field in a spray of water, happily dancing about on its tail, whipping its blade about with deadly accuracy. However it wasn't the strength of that monster that was what made it deadly...it was the effect.   
  
"I shall now play Legendary City Atlantis, which boosts my water monsters by two hundred attack and defense, and lowers all my water monsters in hand by one level. Best effect for right now...it is counted as being the Umi field card. And when Umi is active Mermaid Knight can attack twice in a battle phase. So go Mermaid Knight(1700/1000), show her the power of the ocean!" The mermaid darted out, slicing Tea's face-down monster into swiss cheese. Then it followed up with a direct strike that depleted her life points. (TLP: 6300)  
  
Tea picked up a card, and slowly slid the monster down onto the field. But as soon as it was placed, her opponent activated his face down card. "Reveal trap, Torrential Tribute!" Due to the effect of Mako's trap both of them lost their two monsters in a deadly explosion of power. Unable to make any other move she just ended her turn.  
  
Mako drew a card and laughed heartily, slipping the cards he wanted into action. "My first card is Ocean of Revival, which will renew one water monster for a single turn. My second card is my favorite card, the Legendary Fisherman(2050/1800). And with these two monsters I shall strike out!" The fisherman used its spear to knock her down, and the knight followed up with two direct attacks, nearly finishing her off. (TLP: 850)  
  
As soon as Mako's turn ended his Mermaid Knight shattered into a million pieces, leaving her with more of a chance at getting to him. And as soon as she drew her card she knew she had a way to make things work. She could turn this duel around right now! "I play Silent Dead, reviving my own Lady Panther in defense mode. But I'll just sacrifice her for Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700)!"   
  
The blue robed pretty blonde spellcaster came onto the field with a twirl, flashing a wink at Mako. The older duelist blinked twice, a small bit of red creeping into her cheeks. Yami just rolled his eyes, well acquainted with the antics of his favored magician's apprentice. "Now I play Jewel of the Wise, letting me special summon the Dark Magician(2500/2100) to the field!"  
  
With her two powerful magicians on the field and no face-down cards on his field, he found himself in a painful predicament. While his fisherman's effect protected it from magic, traps, and monsters...it also had the nasty little piece where it couldn't be targeted by an attack while Umi was in play. And since it couldn't defend, that meant both attacks would be direct. "Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician, Twin Black Magic Burning Attack!"  
  
A blaze of energy erupted from the two magic user's wands crashing into Mako's chest and knocking him for a loop. He couldn't even manage to remain standing under that onslaught. When it had finally ended he found himself worse for the wear, both physically and life point wise. (MLP: 3500)   
  
When it became time for him to take his turn, all he could do was set one card and pass the turn to Tea. She gladly took her turn, happy to be believing that she could now win this duel. She drew her card and quickly set it on the field, knowing that now she was protected. "I attack with both my monsters to end this duel!"  
  
"Activate Tornado Wall, preventing the damage!" A wall of water vortexes erupted, blocking off the path of her magician's attacks. Therefore she was forced to end her turn. Mako just took his turn, casually drawing his card. Upon seeing it he sighed with deep regret, and placed the card onto the field. It was now time to end it, and oh how he regretted it.  
  
"I shall sacrifice my Legendary Fisherman to summon Leviadragon(2800/1600) to the field in attack mode! And not only is he powerful, but by placing Umi, or in this case Atlantis, into the cemetery I can destroy all cards on the field except for himself!" The mighty sea dragon tossed its head back and let out a roar, the underwater city behind it exploding into dust. And with that rage a wash of water blew all of Tea's cards away, leaving her defenseless.   
  
"Leviadragon...end it." The giant sea serpent opened its jaws as wide as they could go and unleashed a stream of powerful water that plowed over Tea, obliterating her life points. Nobody could watch as the black wind descended, and the cries of anguish ripped the air from the devastated Yami and all of Tea's other friends. They knew it was not Mako's fault...but why didn't that make him feel any better?  
  
"You feel dreadful because you find yourself able to enter the temple and live simply because you defeated an inferior opponent. You also cost a young girl her life, which is never satisfying to a person with a heart such as yours." Mako's eyes whipped up, coming into contact with a pair of blue-green eyes. Those eyes were incredibly powerful, showing an inner strength greater then anything Mako could imagine. Those eyes were like the sea, deadly and powerful, able to save and destroy at the same time.   
  
The spiky blonde-haired duelist stepped forward, his large muscles rippling under and outside of his sleeveless black shirt. Dalin Sumatin was an imposing figure of a man, and he had no intention of letting this crime go unpunished. He would judge Mako, that was what he would do. "We shall now duel, and when it is all over I will inform you if you are guilty or not. How does that sound?"   
  
Mako stared hard at the other duelist for a moment before finally nodding, agreeing to the terms. They both shuffled their decks and drew their hands, Dalin selecting six indicating that he would be going first. "I shall place one card face down, and summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0) in attack mode. I pay 1500 life points to summon the three Holy Shine Spheres(500/500 X3). That is all." (DLP: 6500)  
  
The ocean duelist shrugged at this, unsure of what to do. These monsters were weak, so why would this large duelist do such a thing? Mako knew he was powerful, he had seen the defeat of Yugi Motou televised from Battle City, he knew that this duelist was perhaps the strongest that there was. But he had left these weak monsters almost unguarded, what kind of move was that?   
  
"I set two cards face down, and play Legendary City Atlantis! This allows me to summon the Legendary Fisherman(2050/1800). I'll attack with him!" The two cards appeared, followed by the giant city and the fisherman on his shark. His fisherman launched its spear, only to find it connecting to a shield that sent streams of energy flowing back into Dalin.   
  
"My Drain Shield negates your attack and increases my life points by your monster's attack. That is the end of your turn, and your last chance at victory." Mako opened his mouth to reply, but merely chose to ignore the comment. Nobody could possibly defeat him in two turns, it just couldn't happen. Therefore he had no trouble with that statement. It was a bluff meant to throw him off his game. (DLP: 8550)  
  
Dalin drew his card, and swiftly activated the Harpy's Feather Duster, clearing away Mako's two face down cards and his field card. With that out of the way it was down to Mako's single weakened monster against all of Dalin's. If Dalin summoned something stronger, Mako was in trouble. "Now I shall sacrifice the three Holy Shine Spheres for this...the Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(1500/1500)!"   
  
In an explosion of power the mighty golden dragon reared its head, and let out a roar that flattened Mako and all those around the duel. Yami himself was astounded that Dalin was willing to summon such a deadly creature against a normal duelist. But then again, Dalin had never been a normal duelist himself, and he played by his own rules. "I sacrifice Venus to Ra, increasing his attack points to 3100. Then I pay six thousand seven hundred and fifty life points to increase Ra's attack by that amount."   
  
The god's stats skyrocketed up to a huge nine thousand eight hundred and fifty attack points and a mere fifteen hundred defense points. But everybody there could do the math. They knew what Ra's attack power minus the Legendary Fisherman's attack power equal. It equaled the end of this duel. "I judge you to be not guilty, you are a merely a duelist trying to survive and find the one he cares for. I judge the guilty one to be Ihachi who forced this situation upon us. But I will not back down in this moment, I will finish this duel to allow myself access to the temple! God's Breath Cannon!"   
  
In a blaze of golden energy the god consumed the Legendary Fisherman and the duelist who stood behind it. When the light cleared, neither was anywhere to seen, and the duel was obviously Dalin's. Now all who had not seen him duel before were afraid, for this was a duelist of extraordinary power.   
  
The attention had been drawn to these duels, and had therefore been drawn away from a tall black haired boy with a die hanging from his ear. This boy was Duke Devlin, and he had been busy having a conversation with his mentor, the esteemed Pegasus J. Crawford, creator of the greatest game ever to be known.   
  
The two game creators and game masters had agreed on something mutual. They had agreed that they wanted any duel they had to be between the others. Pegasus had no inclinations to face Yugi or any of the others, in fact he didn't want to duel anybody at all. But Duke was persistent, so he had agreed. (DLP: 8000, PLP: 8000)  
  
Duke started off, drawing his hand and starting up his plan. He knew what he could do. "I'll play Graceful Charity to draw three and discard two. Then I'll summon Swift Black Ninja(1700/1000) in attack mode. Of course I'll also play two cards face down." His three cards appeared, one a black clothed ninja, the other placed down on the field, ready to take down any attack Pegasus might mount.   
  
Little did he know that Pegasus' had a Toon Control Deck, which was based around controlling the field and using his toons to defeat the opponent. Even without his toons it was devastating, and he was about to prove that. "I play Brain Control to take command of your ninja!" The glowing brain appeared, and reached out with its arms to grab the ninja.  
  
"Not so fast! By removing two dark type monsters in the cemetery from the game, which I can since I discarded them, I can remove Swift Black Ninja from play for the duration of the turn, preventing your from taking him!" The dark ninja reached into his belt and pulled out a small silver sphere. He threw it against the ground and smoke exploded from it, covering him.   
  
When the smoke cleared there was no ninja, and therefore nothing for Brain Control to work on. Its effect fizzled, and Pegasus was forced to continue his turn, one monster less because of it. However that didn't matter in the least. "I play Disruption of Balance! I can only activate this card if you have two or more magic or trap cards then I do. And since I've got none and you have two its perfect Devlin-boy. At a cost of one thousand life points I can send those cards straight to my hand off the field!" (PLP: 7000)  
  
Duke gasped in shocked as his cards vanished. Frustrated he walked over to the older duelist, who gladly accepted the two cards with relish. "But not mustard." Duke couldn't quite place the reason for Pegasus making that comment, so he let it lie, just remembering that while his mentor might be eccentric, he was still a genius.   
  
"Well now that I've got those two cards I think I'll set two cards of my own. And of course I can now summon the cudely creatures known as the Goblin Attack Force(2300/0). And now my goblins attack directly!" The deadly green imps charged in wielding their assortment of weapons, pummeling Duke without mercy. When the smoke cleared he was behind in life points. (DLP: 5700)  
  
"I'll end my turn at that. Enjoy yourself Dukey, because that's what you wanted right? Am I right?" He smiled widely, and as soon as his turn passed the ninja stepped sideways out of the shadows. For this trick he earned a smattering of applause from the lace-wearing game creator.   
  
"I'll take my ninja off the field so I can summon" He stopped in mid-word because Pegasus had held up a hand, shaking his figure like Duke had done something wrong. But that wasn't what it was, in fact it was the card that Pegasus had placed down on the field that was doing the trick.   
  
"My magic card Prophecy lets me guess if the monster you're about to play has more or less attack points then two thousand. And since your sacrificing for it, I'm going to guess its higher! And if I'm right it gets placed in my hand!" Duke grimaced, walking over to Pegasus and handing the white haired man his Fiend Megacyber even before he had gotten to play it. Now all he had was one last trick up his sleeve to keep himself from being easily beaten.  
  
"I'll set one card face down and pass my turn to you." Pegasus smiled in thanks and drew a card, happily grinning at whatever he had seen. It was obvious to Duke that Pegasus was saving the traps he had taken from him for later. That meant Duke had no way of knowing what Pegasus' remaining face down card was. And that couldn't be good.  
  
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon to rid the field of that pesky face-down card of yours. And with that out of the way I can activate a special trap. Its called Effect Cancel! And when this nifty trap is activated no monster on the field can use its effect." A bolt of lightning shattered Duke's Negate Attack trap card, and then Pegasus' own trap flipped up.   
  
At first Duke didn't understand. He couldn't figure out what his opponent was up to. But the moment the other duelist reached for his monster zone, Duke understood. Without its effect active, Pegasus could switch his goblins back into attack mode, and they wouldn't be forced into defense mode after this turn! "Here come the goblins, stomp him again!"  
  
The creatures stormed over him for the second time, again beating down his defenses and his life points. At this rate of attack and skill Duke would be finished before Tea even dropped below six thousand life points! And he knew he was a better duelist then Tea. (DLP: 3400)  
  
"Ooo, I'll just set one card and one monster down on the field. That's all for the moment." His two cards appeared, and then the turned shifted back to Duke. The dice boy gave himself his third card, and tried to hold off his jumping for joy until his card finished its work. Or started it even.   
  
"I play Summon Dice, activated at a cost of one thousand life points. Whatever they land on me a different effect, and I'll just pray its something good! So here we go...DICE ROLL!" The die shot out, bouncing like crazy, and Duke's only wish was that it land on a very specific number. If it did he'd thank lady luck more then he had ever thanked anybody ever before. Or rather, he'd thank her whereas he'd never thanked anybody ever before. (DLP: 2400)   
  
Finally the die came to a rest, and he jumped for joy like he had wanted to. "Yes! A six! This means I can special summon Orgoth the Relentless(2500/2000) to the field in attack mode!" His brutish axe-wielding favorite monster was summoned, its shiny armor....well shining in the sun actually. Pegasus smiled wickedly, quite prepared for such a moment...or so he seemed.   
  
It didn't matter to Duke if Pegasus had every trap every created on the field, which he didn't, but the point was that he wasn't going to back down now. He was going to use his favorite monster to take command of the duel and win the day for himself. He was going to defeat his mentor at his own game. "Orgoth, crush those puny goblins!"  
  
The massive monster raised his huge axe and rained fury down upon the goblins, who sat there and let themselves be obliterated. With those pesky creatures out of the way, Duke had finally managed to deal some damage to Pegasus, and he had a solidly powerful monster on the field. Maybe now he had a chance. "End turn!" (PLP: 6800)  
  
Pegasus sighed, reaching out and drawing his next card. He already knew exactly what was going to happen, and he didn't need an ancient magical eye to tell him that, or any other mystical power. He just knew the field, knew his game, and knew his victory was at hand.   
  
He had never let on to anyone just how much he knew about strategy. Why he had studied Sun Tsu's The Art of War to help him create Duel Monsters. He knew chess, he knew every bit of strategy he could have drilled into his brain. And one of the tactics he employed to great success was to allow the enemy a victory that weakened their alertness, threw them off guard and made them open for a deadly counter attack.   
  
Something he had heard Yugi and his friends discussing suddenly clicked, and he understood exactly what had happened. He knew what the truth was, but the suspect he couldn't determine. Yet in the moment of his understanding he felt a pair of eyes burning into the back of his head, felt a powerful mind force its way into his and he knew that he was right.   
  
"Devlin-boy, I have to finish this quickly so I can tell Yugi something very important. So I'll just flip my X.E.N.O. to seize control of Orgoth, and use it's attack to finish you off!" The brutish warrior turned itself upon its master and struck, the axe sending Duke flying backwards. Pegasus turned and started rushing towards Yugi the moment he saw the dark wind approach. (DLP: 0)  
  
The crowd was gathered around a duel, and there, burning above the field was the mighty form of Ra. His creation, the thing he had struggled so hard to make, was now staring down a weaker opponent with its great power and ferocity. Pegasus' vision of power and truth had come true, his gods were truly complete and almighty.   
  
Shaking off the feeling of pride he started struggling to push through the crowd, tried to force his way past so he could reach Yugi and give the boy the critical information he possessed. The secret that their enemy was trying to hide. Sun Tsu's Art of War had been employed, and the defenses of the only ones capable of saving the day were weakened. He had to fix that now!  
  
A hand fell upon his shoulder, and fear gripped him. A dark sense of foreboding filled his body, and he saw the world around him dissolve away, turning into something different. It was a dark barrier that surrounded them, engineered by an ancient power, something far more deadly then the Shadow Magic that Pegasus had once wielded.   
  
Slowly he turned around, and found himself face to face with his enemy. He would not have guessed, he would not have suspected, but now he knew. And as such things go, he also knew that he would never make it to Yugi. He would never get to reveal the secret. He could only hope that Yugi or one of his friends managed to figure it out in time. "I'd never have suspected you."  
  
The harsh voice replied back, dark laughter dripping with malice, it was a voice that terrified him, merely because it was backed with a malevolence that he had never experienced before. It was beyond comprehension how evil this creature was. He didn't know what it was, he didn't understand how it could possibly exist. All he knew was that it did, and he was terrified.  
  
"Never have suspected me? Why as I told little Sun Tsu all those years ago... that is exactly the point. As for what I am and how I can exist...well the truth is that I'm the thing that gods and goddesses feared, the thing that devoured all other things. I exist to devour the sun, I exist to consume all light and cover the world in darkness. And I love what I do."   
  
Nobody ever heard Pegasus' screams. In fact when the duel between Dalin and Mako ended, everybody simply discovered Duke lying on the ground, soulless. Nobody ever knew who he had dueled or what had become of his opponent. Nobody knew the secret that Pegasus had tried to reveal.   
  
For an ancient evil existed in this false Eden. An evil that lurked within the shadows waiting to devour all light, whether it be natural or artificial. The light of the body, or the light of the soul. All things this thing devours. Ihachi's peaceful paradise was being lurked by something infinitely dark and impossibly evil.   
  
Author's Note: Yes indeed, this is the shortest chapter in ages. I know, but hey, its an update right? And its only a semi-important chapter. Only one part of it is of real importance, and you can guess which part that is right? The part where Dalin kicks ass of course! Or...whatever, you know what I mean.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Pegasus: Disruption of Balance, Effect Cancel  
  
Cards from Vague Anime Arcs: Ocean of Revival(used by Big 2), Prophecy(if you don't remember Pegasus using this to steal Kaiba's Blue Eyes, you're crazy!), Summon Dice(Duke in Doom Arc), Orgoth the Relentless(Duke in Noa and Doom Arcs) 


	31. Soul of Duelists

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh  
  
Author's Note: Yeah, this wasn't posted for a long time since I was unable to work on any of this stuff during the larger part of summer because I was behind on work for getting into college. So my dad told me I couldn't do any writing until I was caught up. So here it was at last!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "I hope that when you're my age you'll be able to say, as I have been able to say: we lived in freedom; we lived lives that were a statement, not an apology." -Ronald Reagen  
  
Chapter Thirty: Soul of Duelists  
  
"What do you mean Pegasus has vanished? You saw him duel that Devlin brat right? So where did he go after that?" Ihachi's voice resonated with power, a pure force of energy that dropped Malik to his knees as he stood in her awesome presence. Of course being on her bad side was hardly pleasant.   
  
"I'm sorry mistress, I remember watching him try to push past the crowd after his duel with Devlin and then the next thing I remember was Dalin defeating Mako Tsunami in their brief duel. Nothing about Pegasus and what might have happened to him." He cringed, fearful of the terrible power she controlled. If he had irritated her, she could easily destroy him. He had already faced absolute destruction once at the hands of Dalin, but facing it again was beyond him.   
  
Ihachi grimaced, not even bothering to hide her irritation. Something was happening out there, but she couldn't tell what. Whatever force acted against her it was ancient and hid itself so well she could not sense it. It had also edited the memory of anyone who might have seen it act, so even her strongest deputy knew not what had happened.   
  
"Return to watching the duels, if you get back out there in the next minute you will see that prick Bakura defeating Weevil Underwood and Espa Roba. Now get out of my sight!" He scurried away, leaving her to her raging. He was in fact in time to see Bakura defeat the two other duelists, in time to understand that this was not the weaker Bakura, this was the Bakura that his weaker half had cut a deal with.  
  
"So he managed to survive even his destruction at the hands of the Pharaoh in that four-way duel they had huh? I swear that thief is indestructible. Oh well, now to see what duels will be next." He stood now at the top of the temple steps as he had before, and he watched the next duel be arranged. He didn't understand how this duels were being arranged, but he knew exactly this. The duels were enjoyable to watch, particularly the carnage.   
  
He scanned what remained of the crowd, and his jaw nearly dropped. It made no sense whatsoever. There were more missing! That girl Autumn, she was now gone as well and with no explanation either. It must have happened while he was in the temple!   
  
Keith Howard was lying lifeless on the ground, the body of one of the Pharaoh's lackeys, the spiky haired one lying nearby. Standing over the body of Keith was one of the new ones, this Kai Kaethen. There was no Mai Valentine either....the numbers had dwindled....and he had no way of knowing what had happened to those who couldn't be seen.  
  
Only one duelist remained to be challenged, only one of them remained untested, unproven. This was a task that would fall to one specific duelist. Slowly a feral grin spread across his face and he started down the temple steps, intent on revealing something special to the gathered duelists.   
  
Suddenly a blaze of light erupted from behind him, golden power pouring out of the temple doors. He whipped his head around to find the source, but all he could see was a figure standing in the doorway, the lights making it impossible to tell who it was. "Mistress Ihachi?"  
  
"Not quite....but close enough." The golden light surged forwards, consuming him within its greatness. The light shot down the steps, covering the entire false paradise in that eerie golden light. Nobody even got a chance to let out cries of despair, for the light came to fast to be stopped, it was unstoppable.   
  
When the light faded, everything was as it was, but yet everything was also different. Kai Kaethen looked up and away from Keith, and turned his gaze upon the temple itself. His gaze was hardened, more solid then ever. "Now everything changes."  
  
(Moments Earlier)  
  
The blaze rolled over Kai with all the force of a hurled cinder block, and with equally as much stopping power. He managed an 'oof' before everything faded into oblivion, leaving him spiraling into the endless horrors that awaited. Flashes of his various Battle City duels surged through his mind in those many moments, and he had no idea how long it was that he remained this way.  
  
When he awoke, blinking back the foggy residue of unconsciousness, he lifted his head and looked around. Instead of finding a paltry copy of some twisted woman's vision of paradise, he now saw something completely different. Something he recognized from books he had read.  
  
"My god....it's a tomb." And he was right, for all around him were hieroglyphs, depicting the story of whoever's tomb this was. The pots used to hold the organs of a mummified corpse lay several paces away, and golden arches held the entire room up.   
  
The center piece of the tomb was a pool of crystal clear water that appeared to be only a foot deep, and at the very center of it was a massive sarcophagus, with gold and jewels adorning it. Sitting on top of the sarcophagus was a very familiar figure. "D....Drake?"  
  
"Got it in one." The punk duelist hopped off the sarcophagus, dropping down into the water beneath him. Kai couldn't help but notice that his fall caused not even a ripple in the pool. Slowly the other duelist started walking towards Kai, until they were facing each other at a distance of about a dozen feet.  
  
"This is a tomb, you're right about that one as well. But it's a bit more specific then that. I doubt you'd know the actual name since it was rarely spoken of or written about." He smiled, and then started to open his mouth to explain exactly what the room was. But Kai had already realized without a shadow of a doubt that this was exactly what he thought it was.  
  
"It's a Memory Tomb. They were used by the Egyptians for storing the lives of people who were either very famous....or very infamous. Only the most respected or most hated people could possibly have a Memory Tomb made for them. But....nobody has ever actually found a Memory Tomb, only seen hieroglyphs explaining them and images depicting them."   
  
Drake's eyes widened briefly, but then he grinned. It was a good thing that Kai knew something about Memory Tombs. It made this a lot easier for him. Explanations always took up a lot of useless time. "The reason nobody ever found a Memory Tomb was because they were constructed within the minds of the person, and their memory would pass through that construct into an equivalent in the Shadow Realm where the memory would remain forever. And as for whose Memory Tomb this is....well its Ihachi's actually, and mine of course."  
  
Kai jerked his gaze up from the water, his two different eye colors locking with Drake's violet gaze. The look on Drake's face was completely sincere....but what he was saying was impossible. He said as much, and Drake just shrugged before motioning to the pool. "Its true really, because I am or was....I'm really not sure which now, the leader of the Royal Guard in Egypt thirty-five hundred years ago. Ihachi, though her name was different at the time, was my twin, and she was one of whom they called The Seven."  
  
Kai absorbed this new information, trying to sort it out with what he already knew. There was a mention of some people called The Seven in some ancient texts, and they did date from around the time Drake was talking about. The Seven were written about as something like gods, guardians, and monsters. The text switched mannerisms, going from awed reverence, to mere respect, and lastly to pure disgust and fear. "How....how do you know?"  
  
Again Drake pointed down at the pool, and as Kai's gaze connected with the waters....it rippled. The image became clear, and Kai understood how Drake could know these things. For the key piece of the Memory Tomb were the Tides of Memory and the Sarcophagus of Memory. The Tides of Memory, which was the pool, would create a magic nature that allowed anyone entering the Sarcophagus to absorb into themself all the memories. There was mention of something called a Memory World, but nobody knew what that meant.   
  
The images now displayed in the pool was of someone who looked almost identical to Kai, only he was slightly older and he wore white robes with gold gilding. Standing in front of this strange Kai clone was a very familiar monster, and it appeared to be in battle with another familiar monster. The image flickered, and his opponent was revealed. It was Ihachi, wearing brilliant robes of scarlet and gold. "This was me in the past?"  
  
Drake nodded, and then the image faded away, leaving the pool crystal clear once again. Drake sighed and moved away, going to lean up against the giant sarcophagus. "I've got to pass a few things on, and I can't really explain everything I've learned. I let myself lose because I knew I would be absorbed into Ihachi in this world, which would allow me access to all her secrets. I hadn't guessed on the Memory Tomb because I didn't know there was such a thing....but now I know everything I need to."  
  
He sighed and shoved his hands into the pockets of his leather jacket. His eyes slid shut and his head lowered as if he were falling into a deep sleep. His chest rose and fell with a steady rhythm, but Kai knew he wasn't asleep. Slowly Drake began to speak. "I need to make sure a few things happen, because my time is limited. I'd rather not have to force it on myself, because it terrifies me. I want someone else to defeat Ihachi, and I think that you could be the one. If I have to do it....I might break down from fear of what will happen to me."  
  
"What....what do you mean? What would happen to you? I really don't get this at all." Drake's hollow chuckle reached Kai's ears, and the waters beneath him reflected his grim thoughts. Images of bodies strewn across destroyed streets filled it, blood billowing in clouds along with the smoke. Then the pool became clear as soon as Drake started talking.  
  
"Less then a day ago I died. I know it sounds ridiculous, but I did, I died in a duel with Taichi. Ihachi used her magic to take over my body and repair it using the powers of the Shadow Realm. My soul had become part of all those around me, and when they entered the outer parts of the Shadow Realm my soul automatically took action to restore itself, and I got back control, once again fine. But that was just a lie, because everything in the Shadow Realm is a lie. Everything that I am is a lie."  
  
The pool flickered again, displaying the events that Drake spoke of. The blades of blood that ripped into his side, his last moments as blood trickled down his chin, bubbling up from his mouth. The moments when brilliant points of light converged on Ihachi, and Drake was reborn. Yet from this Kai got a strange feeling of dread.  
  
"The Shadow Realm makes lots of things possible, and one of those is the essence of the lie. I exist in this realm as merely an echo of who I truly am. I exist merely as a soul, functioning under the will of those who wish me to be alive. But when this realm crumbles around us and everyone is free....I will truly be dead. And I'm afraid of that because when Taichi killed me, I discovered that there wasn't anything. I'm not afraid of the process of dying, never have been. But I'm afraid of it....stopping. I don't want to stop existing....I'm afraid of not existing, because there's no heaven and no hell awaiting me."  
  
Suddenly Drake pushed himself off the sarcophagus and then he threw his head back. The echoes of his booming laughter filled the room, and Kai could only stare, completely confused. The person he had started to come to know was just an echo? "Look at me, moping around when I had a reason for bringing you to the Tomb of Memory where time functions differently. See, you're confident as a duelist, but you lack the true determination and purpose that is needed. I'm going to give you that so you can either defeat Ihachi or help whoever is meant to do it. To do that....we duel."  
  
Kai's eyes widened as a DD2 appeared on Drake's arm. The other duelist shuffled the deck within it and then replaced it where it belonged. Then with a snap of his finger, he made them a playing field. The entire sarcophagus simply melted into the floor, making the pool their dueling field.   
  
Drake walked to the other side and then turned around, facing Kai once again. Both of them gave each other a nod of acknowledgment, Kai understanding that even if he didn't perfectly understand Drake, this was something he had to do for Drake's sake. "I've altered my deck for this duel, so I hope you enjoy it. Oh, and I've already selected my deck master." (DLP: 8000)  
  
A surge of golden power erupted from Drake's deck and shot out behind him, forming into a purple skinned humanoid with black leather clothing. The Chaos Sorcerer was to be Drake's deck master. In that case Kai knew exactly what monster he was going to choose. "I'll defeat any deck you've made, and I'll do it using my deck master, Breaker the Magic Warrior!" (KLP: 8000)  
  
The gold and red armored magic user took shape, granting extra confidence to Kai as it stared down the sorcerer across from them. Drake grinned and started drawing his opening hand, and Kai followed suit. Once they were both set Drake took out a coin and tossed it into the air. "Call it."  
  
"I'll call tails." Drake nodded and snatched the coin out of the air. He opened his palm to look at the coin, and then he grinned, showing it to Kai. The coin had landed on heads, so Drake would be going first and Kai would be going last. Now the duel was on for certain!  
  
Drake drew his card and examined his hand of six cards. He let out a slow sigh, apparently disappointed with what he had drawn. But Kai knew better, it had to be a bluff, he had to be trying to throw Kai off balance. "I'll set one card face down. Now its your turn Kai."   
  
Kai blinked, nearly losing his balance he was so surprised. Apparently Drake's hand was that bad. If he couldn't use any of the other cards it probably contained virtually all high level monsters, or at least magic cards that couldn't be used yet. "Heh, well I'll show you how its done when I summon X-Head Cannon(1800/1600)."  
  
The large machine monster was summoned, and then it trained its cannons on Drake who didn't even shrug. The next part was going to make certain that Drake couldn't stop this attack or turn it back on him. "I discard one card to use my deck master's effect!" He deposited his card into the grave and then watched as Breaker sent a wave of red light streaking towards the set card.   
  
"I respond by chaining that card, which is Magician's Circle! And if you pride yourself as a spellcaster duelist, then I'm sure you know what this card does." Drake was right, Kai did know. Magician's Circle let both players special summon a magician to the field, but neither could attack in that turn. If Kai was going to get this right he had to choose the perfect monster.   
  
Drake's strongest magician was his Black Magician of Chaos, and Kai had no normal monster with that kind of attack power. His only monsters of that power were XYZ and Dark Paladin, neither of which he could bring out right now. But he did have a card that could break Drake's strategy, all he had to do was make it look like he was summoning his strongest magician, and Drake would walk right into the trap. "I'm choosing to special summon my Dark Magician(2500/2100) to the field!"  
  
The purple robed mage blinked into existence, standing strong and at the ready. Though Kai couldn't attack with him yet, he knew that this was going to work perfectly. At least he thought so.... "I also choose to special summon the Dark Magician." Another magic user in purple robes was summoned, making the field nearly even. Kai didn't understand why Drake hadn't summoned his Black Magician of Chaos, but he was fairly certain that Drake intended to use Baptism of Light and Dark to summon it, and get back some magic card he would use in the next turn.   
  
That was fine with Kai, he'd just have his trap ready and waiting to take out Drake's attacker. This was going to be easy. "I'll set one card face down, and since I can't get past your magician I'll just end my turn." Drake nodded and drew his card, returning his hand to its original size of six cards. The pool beneath them flickered with the images of a mighty monsters clashing with the darkness.  
  
"I begin my turn by playing Band of Brothers! At a cost of one thousand life points I can special summon two level four monsters of the same type as one monster on the field. These monsters cannot attack, but they can be summoned. Therefore I summon Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700) and White Magic Summoner(1200/500)!" The two monsters, one dark and one light, appeared next to each other. They flanked the taller and more powerful Dark Magician, giving Drake three monsters.  
  
Three monsters? Hadn't Drake summoned a monster in their duel against the Union Riders that required three tributes? Well even if Drake summoned it, Kai's trap was going to take it out. "I shall now summon the creature that will be the one to defeat you, so I swear it. I apologize for this Kai, I didn't want it to be this way, but you have to understand the nature of power if you are to defeat Ihachi. And there is no better way to study power then to witness it first hand in the form of Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!" (DLP: 7000)  
  
Columns of light erupted from the waters, wrapping around the three monsters and turning them into three spheres of energy. The energy spheres swirled around each other before finally colliding, and the resulting blast of light blinded Kai momentarily. As soon as he got his vision back he saw the creature that had frightened him before, the awe inspiring Obelisk.   
  
"There's more. As you used your deck master's effect last turn, I shall now use my deck master's effect. By discarding one card I can remove any monster on your field from the game. Therefore I discard two cards from my hand to remove X-Head Cannon and Dark Magician from play!" Kai gasped in horror, understanding that he had fallen into a trap of Drake's making. Drake had wanted him to summon a strong monster so he could remove it from the game!   
  
The Chaos Sorcerer raised his outstretched hands and fired off twin beams of octarine light. The chaos energy collided with the two monster's on Kai's field and they both ceased to exist. No struggle, no explosion, they just vanished. Kai sighed and pocketed the two cards, waiting for Drake to continue his move.   
  
"You don't stand a chance against this kind of power. For now with one attack I will end this duel. Obelisk, God Hand Crusher!" The mighty god monster raised its fist and plunged it down at Kai, a blue aura erupting around the descending hand. If that punch connected then Kai would feel its devastating power first hand, and he would lose half his life points. But that wasn't going to happen.  
  
"You've walked into my trap! Activate Mirror Force!" The trap card flipped up, bringing to life a deadly barrier that had meant the end to many a powerful monster before in various duelists decks. It was a highly effective trap card, so effective that it was restricted to one per deck, and of course it was increasingly rare. However that rarity meant nothing to Obelisk.  
  
To Kai's horror that huge fist shattered his barrier as if it wasn't even there, and then it continued on towards him. The blow collided, and Kai understood power in that brief moment. For that second time stood still, as Kai's body was lifted up by the force of the blow. Then the moment ended, and he was hurled across the room, crashing into the stone wall and making a Kai-shaped indent. (KLP: 4000)  
  
Seconds later he dropped down from his indent and fell face-first to the stone floor. However he did not move, there was no way he could. Drake sighed, knowing that when Kai awoke he would be returned to Ihachi's Eden, and perhaps then he would understand true power. For Kai didn't have the willpower or the strength to get back up after such an attack.  
  
Drake let out a sigh and started to turn away, his feet not touching the water even as he moved. But because he turned away he didn't see a very similar scene unfold in the waters, didn't see the prone form of Kai's past self lying lifeless on the ground. But as they scenes connected, there came a heart beat.  
  
It was a pulsing of energy that so resembled the beating of a heart as to be unmistakable as the same thing. In tandem the two Kais slowly pulled themselves up into a kneeling position, hands steadying themself. The heartbeat grew stronger, and Drake turned around, astonished to see Kai pulling himself unsteadily to his feet. "I can't believe it....he's already starting to understand without even realizing it!"  
  
Kai drew in a shallow ragged breath, each one he took easier then the last. Slowly he felt himself starting to recover, but he still felt weak. However inside he was strong, and that was what mattered. "I won't lose...I can't lose. No matter what you do I won't give up. So I'll show you the truth of my power! I set two cards face down and summon Skilled White Magician(1700/1900) in defense mode. Whatever you try, I'll win, I'm going to prove that I've got the power to defeat you and Ihachi!"  
  
Drake picked up one of his cards, glancing down at it briefly. A small smile flickered across his features and then was gone. Sighing he shoved the card into his cemetery, and began his move. "Power can't just be created by a person's will, so it will require more then a few cards to stop Obelisk and I. Now watch and learn as I banish your magician!"   
  
Chaos Sorcerer raised one hand and cast out his chaos spell, vanishing the white robed mage with quaint ease. But this was not to be the end, Kai wouldn't let it be. One of his face down cards flipped up, revealing a card that Drake recognized. "I activate Trap Level 4, letting us both special summon a level four monster from our decks!"   
  
Drake arched an eyebrow at the move, but gladly took one of his cards from his deck and placed it onto the field. Across from him Kai did the same, summoning his Magician's Valkyria(1600/1800), a female magician who was almost identical to the Dark Magician Girl. "That won't help you, because my deck master can still use its effect. And of course I get to summon Skilled Chaos Magician(1800/1600)!"  
  
Drake's monster was a tall magician in robes of black and white, and holding in his hand a pure black staff. Kai smiled, knowing that even if he hadn't brought out a magician, he could have counted on Drake to do so. "Since we've both special summon a magician it makes using this card doubly as easy. My remaining trap is Magician's Ordination!"   
  
Drake smiled, hiding his joy that Kai was truly determined and prepared to bring him down no matter what. There was nothing left for Drake to do, since Magician's Ordination ended his turn when activated, and it cold only be activated when a spellcaster was special summoned. Then it allowed Kai to draw a card. "Good move, but its just delaying the inevitable. You'll need more then that to win this duel."  
  
Kai drew in a deep breath, fully aware that Drake was right. At the moment he didn't have the cards needed to even survive the next turn, and unless he managed to draw a good card, he'd be finished come Drake's next attack. Slowly he drew the card, trusting in himself and his own power. And he was rewarded with, "Pot of Greed!"  
  
He grinned and slapped his next card onto the field, revealing a warrior with sharp blades and dark armor. This was a deadly monster with a dangerous effect. "I summon Makyura the Destructor, and I equip him with Damage Shield!" Makyura was suddenly equipped with a shield made of light, which simply appeared on his left arm. It wouldn't prevent Makyura from being destroyed, but it would prevent Kai from taking life point damage when Makyura was destroyed.  
  
"Makyura, attack Obelisk!" The dark warrior jumped at the mighty blue god, but its power was nothing compared to Obelisk's. With a swat of its hand, Obelisk smashed Makyura into nothingness. Drake let out a laugh, obviously not realizing what Kai had in store.  
  
"Since Makyura has been destroyed I can activate traps from my hand in this turn. I activate Chain To Rivaling Souls, which lets me special summon one monster from each player's cemetery in whichever mode I want! They lose five hundred attack points and require a discard to be sacrificed, but all I need them for is to be a defense shield for me!" Drake grinned, watching as his own Dark Magician appeared on Kai's side, weakened to two thousand attack. Following it was Makyura appearing once again, with its power drained to eleven hundred.   
  
"How does that help, all I have to do is discard my three cards in this turn to remove your monsters from the game, and then I'll attack directly to finish you off. Its perfectly useless." He grinned, folding up his cards and shoving them into his cemetery slot. With that his deck master cast a swirling tornado of energy out at the three monsters. It twisted about them, and then banished them into nothingness, leaving Kai completely defenseless.  
  
It was at this moment that Kai noticed something. The Skilled Chaos Magician had three orbs on it, just like Skilled Dark Magician and Skilled White Magician. The ones on its shoulders were glowing, meaning it had gained magic counters. If that was the case....then once Drake had three Kai was certain that he could sacrifice it to special summon Chaos Magician. "Obelisk, finish this once and for all."  
  
For the second time in the duel the powerful blue god unleashed its deadly attack, intent upon finishing the job it had started in Drake's second turn. Moments before impact its fist collided with a wall of furry brown creatures, which shattered into nothingness. "Kuribo! I see, your last card must have been a Kuribo that you discarded to negate the damage. Well that only works on one attack, so I'll set one card and follow up with Skilled Chaos Magician!" The blast collided with Kai's chest, dropping him to his knees as it depleted his life points. (KLP: 2200)  
  
Kai rose back up to his feet, fully aware that he had no cards in hand and no way to stop Drake's attack. If he drew a monster he'd be finished, if he drew some useless trap then Obelisk would just smash through it. He had to draw something useful, otherwise he was finished as soon as Drake took his turn. "I'll set one card onto the field and end my turn."  
  
Drake raised an eyebrow, then shrugged it off, confident in the power of Obelisk. No trap could destroy Obelisk, the only power great enough to defeat one of the god cards was another god card. But that wasn't totally true...he had defeated Obelisk without using another god, but it Kai had only one card, Drake had used a combination of two unique cards to do that. "Obelisk attacks!"  
  
"Open trap, Cloning!" Drake let out a cry of surprise as the trap card activated. As it turned out Drake had been right, it was a god that was needed to defeat Obelisk. The god that was going to defeat it was itself, or rather the giant duplicate that appeared in front of it. The god and its clone clashed with each other, powerful fist crashing into powerful fist. An explosion of energy burst forth, shattering the two mighty monsters and clearing the field of all but one card.  
  
"That was an excellent move Kai, but this turn isn't over and you have no way to defend yourself. Skilled Chaos Magician will attack directly to bring you one step closer to defeat!" A burst of magical energies erupted from the mage's staff, blasting into Kai's chest for the second time. He grunted, driven backwards by the power. However it was nothing against the intensity of Obelisk's attack that he had taken, so he was able to remain standing this time. (KLP: 400)  
  
Kai grimaced, activating his next card, a familiar card to Drake who had seen it in his duel against Taichi and then opted to put it in his deck afterwards when given the opportunity. It was Payment of Debt, which allowed Kai to draw three more cards at no cost to himself. "I set two cards face down!" The two cards appeared in front of him, creating a barrier that could save him....as long as he had guessed right.   
  
Drake drew his next card and grinned, knowing what he was about to do. "I'd have to thank you for activating that card, because it gave my mage its last counter. Now I sacrifice Skilled Chaos Magician and its three counters to special summon Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600)!" Kai's eyes widened in surprise as the black magic user was summoned to the field. He had been thinking Chaos Magician, but this was even worse, and now Drake got back a magic card from his graveyard!  
  
"I won't lose now! Activate Grave Spell!" His trap flipped up, and it shimmered into view, taking on the effect of his Magician's Ordination. Because Drake had special summon the Black Magician of Chaos he was able to reuse Magician's Ordination to end Drake's turn and allow him to draw one card. Once again the same strategy had worked for him. And as Drake's turn ended, both Grave Spell and Magician's Ordination were removed from the game.   
  
Kai drew again, and then smirked, knowing exactly what he could now do. Now was his moment of recovery where he could even things up, and give himself some breathing room. To do it all he had to do was summon one monster to the field. "I summon Witch of Healing Arts(1500/1100). By sacrificing her I can deal damage to your life points equal to the attack of one of your monsters!" The black robed witch appeared and then immolated herself, inflicting damage to Drake. (DLP: 4200)  
  
"Now I gain life points equal to that amount! And since my spellcaster type went to the cemetery I can activate Spell Theft, placing one magic card into my hand!" His deck ejected the needed card as a wave of energy washed over him, slightly restoring his energy and his life points. Now things were definitely more equal, and Kai stood more of a chance. (KLP: 3200)  
  
"I'll set one card face down, and then I play Change of Heart, commandeering your Black Magician of Chaos. Go, Chaos Scepter Blast!" The magician moved to his side of the field, and then struck out with its staff, sending a sphere of magical power streaking towards Drake. However at the last moment Drake's face down card flipped up and green swords flew across the field, intercepting the attack and freezing the magician in place.  
  
"My Dark Magic Revival allowed me to activate Swords of Revealing Light from my cemetery, and of course at the end of the turn it'll go to your cemetery." Kai shrugged it off, ending his turn and allowing Drake to take his move. As he did so the swords faded, and Drake picked up the card and tossed it to Kai. Then Kai shoved the card into his cemetery, evening things up a bit.  
  
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon on your set card!" Kai responded to the bolt of lightning by activating the targeted card. It turned out to be Waboku, preventing Kai from taking battle damage that turn. In this way he was safe from any attack Drake might make. Drake shrugged and placed a single card face down before ending his turn.  
  
Kai drew a card, starting to become well aware of the fact that his strength was waning. He could last for a while, but if it came down to pure physical life force, Drake was going to win. Drake hadn't taken any attacks yet, so physically he was fine, whereas Kai was injured and weakened by the three attacks on him. "I lay two cards down and summon Drillago(1600/1100) in defense mode."  
  
Drake plucked another card from his deck, but he didn't get a chance to do much because Kai instantly activated one of his face down cards. "I activate Dark Renewal, sacrificing Black Magician of Chaos and Drillago to summon Witch of Healing Arts to the field. Now you can remove her from the game, or you can wait on it, but either way I'm gaining the advantage here." The witch once again appeared on the field, coming out of a black coffin, making her the only monster on the field.  
  
"This won't be a problem. The usefulness of our deck masters has been outlived, but my deck master has one last ability that can serve me. Chaos Sorcerer, activate Dimension Bomb!" The sorcerer raised his arms above his head, slowly summoning a growing ball of chaos energy. After nearly a minute of charging the sphere was several feet across, and looked ready to explode, rippling as it was with octarine light.   
  
"Do it now!" With that the Dimension Bomb exploded, sending a wave of energy rippling across the field. Kai threw up his arms as a meager defense, but he was unable to stop it from covering him. Of course when the energy faded away, there were no monsters around whatsoever, not even the deck masters!  
  
"Dimension Bomb removes all monsters on the field from play, including both deck masters. Then it grants me life points equal to the total attack strength of the removed monsters. Now I've got the advantage once again!" A wave of energy surged around Drake's body, making his hair and his jacket whip about wildly. Kai calmly counted up the attack points of their monsters, and discovered that he really was going to be at a disadvantage. (DLP: 9900)  
  
One thing that Kai didn't understand was why Drake had given away his biggest advantage. The effect of Chaos Sorcerer had proved critical in this duel, so it made no sense for Drake to toss it aside, even for a large bundle of light points. 'What is he up to?'  
  
"I'll now set one monster. Now I shall activate the magic card I returned through my magician's effect. It is a card that is critical in this duel, and has greater meaning then you can guess. The card I activate is Destiny's Way!" A pathway of stars erupted, cluttering the water with bright pinpoints of light, and filling the air around them with similar lights. Whatever effect it had, Kai was certain it wouldn't end well for him.  
  
Kai grimaced and plucked a card free, easily recognizing the monster he had drawn. He summoned it to the field, bringing out Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer(1800/400). The half-man half-ghost brandished his ofuda, ready to eliminate Drake's monster. "Attack!" The priest cast his ofuda at Drake's monster. Light crackled around it, and it shattered, briefly revealing an Apprenticeship Magician before another monster was set.   
  
Drake's hand increased to a size of a bare one, which at the moment was greater then Kai's hand. Now was the moment when the effect of this strange key card would be revealed, and Drake knew that it would turn this duel again. "By paying life points in increments of two hundred up to a total of one thousand I can make both of us draw cards equal to each amount of two hundred. I also must declare one card type, magic, monster, or trap. All cards of the named type we keep, but all those not of that type are discarded."  
  
Kai's eyes widened in horror as he came to understand the horror of this card. It could be potentially disastrous, but it could also save him. There was no telling who it would help, but no matter what it wouldn't bode well for him. "I name magic card, and pay one thousand life points! Now we learn whose destiny is stronger!" (DLP: 8900)  
  
Both duelists drew five cards, Kai's hand becoming five and Drake's becoming six. They both surveyed their hands, and picked free the ones that weren't magic cards. Kai discarded three cards, frustrated that he had lost three good cards. Drake on the other hand only discarded two cards, allowing him to maintain a hand of four cards.   
  
"I now play a card with an upkeep of one thousand life points per turn, a card which I will forever pay the upkeep of. That card is Recycling Bin, and I'll pay for it constantly using Dian Keto the Cure Master!" A giant green bin appeared in front of Drake, floating above the water. With a rush of wind something hurtled into the bin, but what it was Kai wasn't certain. Also a happy old man handed a glowing bubble to Drake, restoring his life points. (DLP: 9900)  
  
"I play one card face down and pass the turn to you." Kai drew his next card, glancing at his hand of three. He knew that he had a move available to him, but it was risky. However it would also allow him to get two monsters, hopefully two good ones. If this move truly worked, he'd gain the advantage for the first time in this duel.  
  
"I sacrifice Kycoo to summon Vampire Lord(2000/1500)!" His priest was replaced by a gaunt figure in seventeenth century clothes. The pale faced man was really creepy looking and not very powerful, but his effects were what was going to do his work for him. Well, as long as this worked that is.  
  
"Now I use one of the magic cards I got from your Destiny's Way. Its called Monster Gate!" Vampire Lord was sucked into a giant vortex and Kai started drawing cards. According to the effect of Monster Gate he could now draw cards until he reached a monster, which was then special summon. Now he just had to hope for a good card.  
  
He drew it, and happily slapped it down onto the field. Now was going to be his moment of truth! "I special summon Star Mage(2700/1400)!" The mystical figure leapt out of the gate just before it closed, and landed in a crouching position. Slowly he rose to his feet, revealing his true appearance. He was a young man in robes of blue and white which gave the appearance of the sky.  
  
As suddenly as the mage appeared, one of Drake's face down cards flipped up. "I activate Trap Reflector, which allows me to reuse the effect of one trap that you've used in this duel. The trap I use is Magician's Ordination!" Kai grimaced as a burst of light covered his field, preventing him from making any further moves. Drake also drew a card into his hand, making things a bit more even.   
  
Drake started to draw his card for his turn, but he was interrupted by Kai's voice. "Now that your turn has begun my Vampire Lord will rise again!" He smirked and waited for his vampire to be resurrected by its own effect. He waited....and waited...but nothing was happening. "What's going on?"  
  
Drake grinned and pointed to the giant green bin, and an image of the vampire shined above it briefly before returning to the bin. "When Recycling Bin was activated all cards in both player's cemeteries went into the bin. From now on there is no cemetery for either of us, and all cards that would go there go to the bin instead, and since Vampire Lord isn't in the cemetery its effect can't revive it." Kai grimaced, but kept heart knowing that his stronger monster still remained on the field.   
  
"Now allow me to reveal the true meaning behind my previous words. I can constantly pay for my bin by using one of its effects. Each turn I may return one card in the bin to my hand, and I choose and activate Dian Keto the Cure Master!" A burst of light erupted from the top of the bin, spilling forth and covering Drake. As it did so his life point meter rose, canceling out the payment he had to make for the bin itself.  
  
"Now I pay one thousand life points for Destiny's Way, and this time we shall draw for trap cards!" Both duelists started drawing their cards, reaching a total of five drawn cards. Kai glanced down at them and grimaced, again having to discard three of his five cards. Drake on the other hand dumped his entire hand into the cemetery. (DLP: 8900)  
  
"What a wasteful move, you just lost five cards for no purpose!" Drake smirked, not even bothering to explain his reasoning. It was simple logic that he wouldn't draw many traps, because in his deck he had replaced traps primarily with quick-play magic cards, which were more difficult to counter. And of course he could recycle them easily to put the beating on his opponents.   
  
"I don't need to explain anything to someone as weak as you, you don't deserve my respect until you prove your strength, which you haven't yet. Now lets continue, I shall play Ultimate Revolution! By sacrificing my set monster I can force both of us to reshuffle our hands and face-down cards into our decks. The only cards that don't go in are face-up cards like Destiny's Way and Recycling Bin." Drake's monster shattered, and both players started their reshuffling.  
  
"Now I can draw five cards!" He swiftly drew the cards free, granting him an entirely new hand and clearing Kai's field of all but his Star Mage. At the moment that was good enough, but it wasn't going to necessarily save him. He just had to hope that Drake didn't get any good cards.  
  
"I play one card face down. Now I summon Skilled Chaos Magician(1800/1600)!" The familiar gold clad mage was summoned to the field, ready for action. However as soon as he appeared the Star Mage fired off a beam of bright silver light which struck the other mage in the chest, knocking him down into the water. Kai gasped as the water splashed outwards from the fall.  
  
It made no sense! How could the water be touched by a hologram if it wasn't touched by Drake. Did that mean that these weren't holograms....or that they were just more real then Drake was? Either way, he still held the advantage. "You've just fallen prey to Star Mage's effect. Whenever you summon a monster he will shoot that monster with his magic, dropping its active stat by five hundred. So Skilled Chaos Magician drops to thirteen hundred attack power."  
  
Drake shrugged and passed the turn to Kai, who gladly drew his card. Upon doing so he nearly jumped for joy, recognizing the familiar image of the Mystical Space Typhoon. With this card he could destroy either the Recycling Bin or Destiny's Way....but which one? 'Wait a second....if I destroy Recycling Bin then all the cards in it should return to their respective cemeteries. That means I'll get Vampire Lord back onto the field. That's the one!'  
  
"I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy the Recycling Bin! Watch as your strategy comes crumbling down!" The vortex appeared, sending a bolt of power at the bin. It exploded and a huge number of cards shot out from it, swirling around in a tornado of Duel Monsters cards. Now everything was going to be set right.  
  
Suddenly the cards shot at them, flying straight into their decks! Kai watched in horrified fascination as each of the cards was reshuffled into his deck without his own will. The same was happening on Drake's end! "What just happened! The bin was destroyed so our cards should have returned to the cemetery!"  
  
"You guess wrong Kai and because you did, you did exactly what I wanted. When Recycling Bin is destroyed all cards that were in it are shuffled back into their correct decks. I then gain life points equal to the total cards reshuffled times one hundred. Now watch my power rise!" Drake held his DD2 aloft, clearly displaying the white numbers as they shot up, soaring high above what Kai had. Now the advantage was even more with Drake then it had been before. (DLP: 14200)  
  
"It doesn't matter! Star Mage will still destroy your magician and deplete your life points!" The robed man chanted a brief spell and then cast it out, sending a beam of golden light at the smaller magician. However it was not alone, for Drake's placed card flipped up, revealing the Shrink card. The golden beam dropped in size, and though the magician was still destroyed, Drake hardly took any damage. (DLP: 14150)  
  
Drake drew a card, and then smiled as he gestured to Destiny's Way. "I choose to destroy Destiny's Way, which then forces you to discard five cards from the top of your deck." The patterns of starry lights surged into one luminescent pinpoint and then shot towards Kai. It exploded in front of him sending him stumbling backwards and away from the field. He sadly picked up the five cards on top of his deck and placed them in the cemetery.  
  
"Now I intend to revive my Black Magician of Chaos. First I'll play Monster Reborn on Skilled Chaos Magician!" The magician rose back onto the field, and was immediately struck by the power of Star Mage. But Drake's words made no sense, because Black Magician of Chaos was removed from play. He couldn't resummon it!  
  
"I play Graceful Charity, granting it the first magic counter. I'll continue by playing Shot From the Dark to reuse my Monster Reborn to revive the discarded Chaos Magician(2400/1900)!" The familiar black robed magic user appeared next to its smaller counterpart, and was immediately shot by the magical draining attack, reducing its power to a measly nineteen hundred, not enough to defeat Kai's Star Mage.  
  
"You should know that I can bring Black Magician of Chaos into play from out of the game using the effect of Skilled Chaos Magician. So I'll sacrifice it and its counters to renew him once again!" The smaller magician went up in a blaze of light, and was replaced instantaneously by the more powerful black robed magician wielding an ebony staff. His two coned head-dress shook as he was drained of power by the Star Mage.  
  
"Now I play the magic card I returned from my magician's effect, and that card is Shrink! And with your Star Mage reduced to such a measly power, I'll destroy it and remove it from the game with the power of my Black Magician of Chaos!" The weakened black mage launched a sphere of deadly energies at the mini version of Kai's strongest magician. It was instantly vaporized, damaging Kai's life points. (KLP: 2250)  
  
"Chaos Magician will attack directly! Chaos Magic Attack!" A blaze of red power erupted from the end of Drake's remaining magician's staff. Kai used his arms to block most of the power, but it still forced him backwards and nearly up against the wall. When it faded he dropped to his knees, breathing heavily. He was almost completely out of strength, this duel was just too taxing on him! (KLP: 350)  
  
Kai grimaced and drew a card, happily playing the Pot of Greed, thankful that Drake had reshuffled it into his deck for future us. Upon inspecting his two new cards he realized that he had a move he could make. This was going to work awesomely! "I play Soul Exchange to sacrifice your monsters for this card....Light Magician(2500/2100)!   
  
A white robed version of the Dark Magician was summoned to the field, his robes glowing brightly and his golden staff shining in the false sun that blaze through a hole in the ceiling. Now with this monster he had a chance! "I use its effect now! I can activate one magic card in my cemetery during each of my turns, but then its removed from play. So I use Pot of Greed!"  
  
He tucked the now overused magic card into the pocket along with his other cards that had been removed from the game. He drew two new cards and glanced down at them, calmly understanding what his move would now consist of. Since Soul Exchange meant he had no battle phase in that turn, he'd have to wait. "I set one m/t. Back to you Drake."  
  
Drake drew and then sighed, knowing what would happen next. "I play Change of Heart!" Light Magician moved over to his side of the field. Then it casually waved its wand, and a giant ankh raised out of the ground. Kai recognized the Monster Reborn card and knew that it was what Drake was reusing with Light Magician's effect.   
  
Chaos Magician exploded onto the field in all his dark glory, powerful beyond anything Kai could handle right now. Two monsters going for the direct attack would be just too much for him in his current state! "I attack with both of my magician's!" The two mages sent their respective energy attacks at Kai, who grimaced and flipped up his face down card.   
  
"I use Soul Spell to return my Light Magician to my hand, and special summon Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700) in defense mode!" In a blaze of light the Dark Magician clone vanished and returned to Kai's hand as a bubble of energy. Then the black robed weaker counterpart to Dark Magician appeared, only to take a blast from Chaos Magician and being destroyed.   
  
Kai drew and activated Card of Sanctity, forcing them to draw until they had six cards. He looked at his cards and sighed, selecting three of his cards to use in this turn. "I'll set two cards and play a monster in defense. End turn." It would have to do to protect him from now, but he doubted it would help much. Drake was deadly, and giving him more options was not a good idea. Unfortunately he hadn't had any choice in the matter.  
  
"The end is closing in! I play Heavy Storm to clear the field of extraneous cards!" A burst of powerful wind swept through the wind, picking up the waters violently. It roared over his placed cards and blew them all into oblivion, making his only defense the monster he had placed down at this very moment. Now things seemed nearly hopeless.  
  
"Next I use Magic Dimensioning! I can remove one magic card in my deck from the game and then place it on the top of my deck at my command!" A card floated out of his deck and hovered above him, the back facing straight towards Kai himself. Unless Drake had a card that allowed him to draw, this move made no sense whatsoever.  
  
"My new card is Magical Textbooks! I shuffle my hand into my deck and then draw one card! If it's a magic card I can instantly activate it, if not I simply keep it. But once I finish shuffling my deck I'll move the card I chose onto the top of my deck!" Drake shuffled his cards into his deck, and then as soon as he was done the hovering card floated down, merging with his deck and becoming his top card. Now Kai understood perfectly.  
  
"I activate the card I drew, Play of Rebellion! This forces your monster to attack you and finish this duel once and for all!" Kai grimaced as his monster flipped up, revealing the Skilled White Magician(1700/1900). Its power was easily great enough to finish him off. Now with a look of regret on its face it was firing a beam of energy directly at his chest, ready to end the duel.  
  
The blast was easily intercepted by a wall of Kuriboh, revealing one of the cards that Kai had drawn using Card of Sanctity. For the second time in this duel the little brown fluff-ball had saved his hide, keeping him from a premature defeat. He was determined to win, and Kuriboh was helping him with that. "Thanks little guy."  
  
Kai drew his card and grinned, knowing what he could now do. "I play Card Pulsation! By discarding my hand and paying half of my life points I can place any three cards in my deck into my hand! This is it, I'm going to win this duel!" He shoved his cards into the cemetery slot and then ejected his deck, searching for the necessary cards. He could win with these cards, he knew that he could! (KLP: 175)  
  
"Now its time to face your defeat, because your field is totally empty of cards! I play these two cards in combination, Spell Economics and Dimension Fusion! Spell Economics means neither player has to pay life points to activate magic card, and Dimension Fusion allows me to summon any number of monsters from out of play by paying two thousand life points. And with their combination I'm getting back all my best monsters!"   
  
The air in front of him swirled, pulsing with the amazing energy trapped within. He reached deep into his pocket and pulled free the cards that had been removed from the game. He gladly selected the five he wanted and slapped them onto the field one by one, allowing them to appear in all their glory. "Its almost over Drake, I've got you cornered!"  
  
Standing in front of Kai was an armada of monsters with varying power. There was his Star Mage, his Dark Magician, the Skilled White Magician, and Magician's Valkyria. These four magicians were joined by the powerful X-Head Cannon, who followed the magician's examples by training his weapons on Drake. "All my monsters, attack full power!"  
  
A barrage of various attacks lit up the Memory Tomb, covering Drake in a spray of energy and pure power. The force of the strikes he was taking would have to be at least as damaging to him as Kai getting smacked down by Obelisk, it had to be! (DLP: 3850)  
  
The smoke cleared and there stood Drake, standing almost as if he had been perfectly unharmed. In fact he was unharmed, for in front of him was a glowing golden barrier, its power erupted from the golden disc that hung around his neck. Drake's leather jacket flared out behind him due to the pure power he was radiating, and it gave him a truly intimidating appearance. "Set one card and end."  
  
Drake casually drew his card, letting the golden barrier reside. He slipped the card into his duel disk, pressing the activation button as he did so. He looked up from his duel disk and cast Kai a grim smile. "I hope you now learn the lesson I intended on power, because this is the final moment of truth when absolute power will be revealed! To do so I activate Altar of Resurrection!"   
  
Drake drew two cards according to the effect of Altar of Resurrection, then he was allowed to activate one magic card from his cemetery. Whatever it was, it wouldn't be good for Kai, that was for sure. "I activate Band of Brothers, and thanks to your Spell Economics I don't have to pay any cost for it!" Kai grimaced, certain that Drake was going to sacrifice for a monster to destroy one of his.   
  
Skilled Dark Magician and Neo the Magical Swordsman appeared in front of Drake, ready and able to do battle, though truly unable to attack thanks to Band of Brothers. It was going to work for Kai, he was going to win. 'The instant he attacks I'll just spring my Trap of Black Magic. All I have to do is sacrifice one magician on my field and I can end his battle phase, dealing damage to his life points equal to the attack power of my sacrifice monster. It'll work for certain!'  
  
"I activate Instant Replay, which lets me reuse the effect of my last played magic card. So I shall replay Band of Brothers!" Again Drake ejected two cards from his deck, and then slapped them onto the field. One was the familiar face of the Mystic Elf, and the other was a magician in flowing black robes that had twinkling stars on it.   
  
"One of the monsters I summon is Guardian Magician of the Night(1900/1400), who apart from having another effect allows me to instantly special summon Guardian Magician of the Day(1400/1900)!" An almost identical magician was summoned, only this one wore flowing blue robes with white sections that move. They were clouds!   
  
"This is my destiny Kai, this is my power, this is the strength that was bequethed to me upon my victory against Seto Kaiba! It is my destiny to teach you the meaning of power, and it shall be your task to give it to its next destined wielder! Watch its power rise once again to end this duel as I had predicted, for by sacrificing Skilled Dark Magician, Neo, and Mystic Elf I can summon Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!"  
  
The area in front of Drake exploded with energy, and the powerful blue god rose up, struggling to even crouch in the Memory Tomb. He was so huge that his wings were striking the wall at the other end. But it wasn't the size that frightened Kai, it was the effect he had seen Drake use against the Union Riders! He was safe though, because his trap could negate the attack.   
  
"Because Guardian Magician of the Night and Guardian Magician of the Day are on the field together I can destroy all of your magic and trap cards at a cost of one thousand life points." The two twin magicians raised their hands and held them in front of themselves, chanting and gathering energies. Then they called out the final part of their spell, and together they sent the completed magical attack at Kai, blasting his set card into oblivion.  
  
Kai slumped, understanding now what true power was. This was true power standing in front of him. It wasn't Obelisk, it was Drake. Drake had the power needed to make whatever he wanted to happen. He had the unfair advantage of a god monster, and this was what he had to know about Ihachi. He would have to defeat any unfair advantages she had, and she was bound to have them.  
  
"Now its ended! I offer Guardian Magician of the Night and Guardian Magician of the Day to Obelisk! Soul Max!" A golden aura exploded around Drake, twisting the water into a huge vortex. Obelisk let out a mighty roar as a golden glow started coming off of it, for now it was one with Drake once again. This time it was not in anger and hatred, but simply in pure determination. This was how it was meant to be used, this was its true strength.  
  
Kai let out a harsh cry as the monsters in front of him were blown away by the awesome powers of Obelisk's might. He saw the fist coming straight towards him, and light exploded in front of his eyes. Then he knew no more.  
  
Drake stared at Kai's prone body and sighed, relaxing at last as the duel ended. He walked over to Kai, his feet never once stirring the water, and knelt at the other teen's side. It had been harsh doing this, but it was necessary. He took Kai's hand with his, and then placed something in it with the other hand. "Swear to me that you'll do what is needed to beat Ihachi. Swear to me that you'll give this card to who it truly belongs to. I'm entrusting this all to you. So good luck."  
  
(Moments Later)  
  
The light faded, revealing the scene to those who had been blinded by it. To everyone else it had been a mere instant, too short a time to be counted. To him it had been a long and strenuous duel, but now his strength was back.   
  
Kai Kaethen looked up from the prone body of Keith and stared up at the temple, his gaze more hardened and solid then ever. He had a mission now, he knew what he had to do. He knew that no matter what he would do his part, and that was what mattered. "Now everything changes."   
  
Author's Notes: Huzzah! I finished it at last, and I hope you enjoyed it.   
  
Original Cards  
  
Drake: White Magic Summoner, Destiny's Way, Recycling Bin, Ultimate Revolution, Skilled Chaos Magician, Trap Reflector, Shot From the Dark, Magic Dimensioning, Guardian Magician of the Night, Guardian Magician of the Day  
  
Kai: Damage Shield, Payment of Debt, Trap of Black Magic  
  
Submitted Original Cards(By Time Mage, who created Kai Kaethen)  
  
Kai: Chain To Rivaling Souls, Magician's Ordination, Spell Theft, Soul Spell, Witch of Healing Arts, Star Mage, Light Magician, Grave Spell  
  
Cards from Various Anime Arcs: Band of Brothers(Egyptian), Magician's Circle(Egyptian), Trap Level 4(KC Grand Prix), Play of Rebellion(Egyptian), Magical Textbooks(Battle City Finals) 


	32. The Long Awaited Duel

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh or any of the characters in it. I do own Drake, Dalin, Taichi, Kensai, Autumn, Hinata, Kirani, Ihachi, and any subsequent minor characters that just sorta appear. Like that guy Lucas Braunham from Drake's first Battle City duel. And that fat ugly guy who Dalin creamed in the first duel in the Shadow Realm. Anyways, I also don't own Kevin Hunter and Kai Kaethen. They are owned by Blue Eyed Knight and Time Mage respectively. I apologize if I got the name wronge Edgar!  
  
Author's Note: Here we go, the duel that you've all probably been waiting for!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: LORD, WHAT CAN THE HARVEST HOPE FOR, IF NOT FOR THE CARE OF THE REAPER MAN? -Death, from Terry Pratchett's 'Reaper Man'.   
  
Advertisement Time: Yugioh, Fanfiction For Dummmies by The Helldragon is not exactly a serious fic. Its the farthest thing from it in fact. Though he may not think of it as a great piece of work, I find it utterly hilarious and recommend it to anyone who likes a good laugh. Load it up on the screen and watch as your computer jumps up and down with uninhibited glee! Well...note really because its a computer, but you will!  
  
Chapter Thirty-One: The Long Awaited Duel  
  
"Everything changes? How utterly ridiculous." Kai's gaze whipped around and came into contact with the freaky eyes of the twisted spirit that was Yami Malik. A fierce grin spread across his face, distorting his already sickening face into something even worse then it was before. As he watched part of Yami Malik's face shifted to the side, stretching away from him as if it was frightened of being part of this creature.  
  
Kai blinked and leaned towards Dalin who watched Yami Malik with the expression of one who is looking down upon a cockroach they are about to squash with a hammer. "Is it just me, or does that face thing defy the laws of physics?" Dalin turned to him and quirked an eyebrow, smiling slightly at the joke.   
  
"Enough of this! The five of you are the last ones remaining, and should you wish to enter the temple you must first get past me, and as my reward for my service I shall choose who my first opponent is." Kai couldn't help but turn his head and look over each of them. Five didn't make sense at all, there were six of them left. Who the heck had Yami Malik missed in counting?  
  
Upon hearing Yami Malik's words, Dalin stepped forward, the same expression still on his face. Yami Malik sneered and raised his arm, pointing to his intended target. Everyone's gaze swivelled away from Dalin and onto the target. "The Pharaoh is my first victim!"  
  
Yami grimaced and with a single motion he cast his coat off of his shoulders and stood ready, duel disk active and deck in place. His life points started counting up and he turned his gaze upon his opponent. "I've been waiting for this as much as you have Malik. And I will win this duel!" (YLP: 8000)  
  
Yami Malik let out a sickening laugh and activated his own duel disk, deck already where it needed to be. His life points also shot up to their correct place, and as this happened he drew an opening hand of six cards, declaring without words that he would go first. "Dalin may have managed to defeat me, but without a god card you don't stand a chance against my dark power! I don't even need a deck master to crush you, all I need is the power of my deck!" (MLP: 8000)  
  
Yami Malik fanned his cards out in front of his face and then smirked, picking out the cards he wanted to use. "Lets get started. I summon Drillago(1600/1100) in attack mode! Then I lay one card face down. Match that Pharaoh!" The machine creature made entirely out of drills was summoned, followed by a card behind it and to the left. Yami grinned upon seeing this, realizing that Malik hadn't made any real changes to his strategy.  
  
He drew a card and looked over his hand. Unfortunately for him he had no monster available with attack points greater then the Drillago, so for the moment he would have to play defensive. His Giant Soldier of Stone would work perfectly for that. "I set a monster and place two cards face down on the field! That ends my turn." The three cards shimmered into view, and then play shifted to Malik again.  
  
The white haired angry spirit added a card to his hand and then smirked even wider then before. It was time to make the Pharaoh walk into an easy trap. "I sacrifice Drillago for Legend Devil(1500/1600) who will gain seven hundred attack points in each of my standby phases. I also set one card and end my turn." On the outside he was grinning wildly, but he was also grinning wildly on the inside, chanting to himself hoping that the Pharaoh would take the bait.  
  
Yami drew a card and glanced down on it. The familiar form of the little earth type monster made him smile, and now he had a way past Malik's monster. "I summon Beta the Magnet Warrior(1700/1400)!" The metallic warrior with his blade was summoned into play, sparks spitting out of his magnet head. With his greater power he would make quick work of Malik's monster.  
  
"Beta will attack your Legend Devil and destroy it! Magnet Slash!" Beta flew across the field and sliced down, intent on destroying Malik's demon. However, at the very last moment one of Malik's two set cards flipped up, revealing a man on a throne pointing down at the man at the bottom of the steps who wore only rags. It was a King and a peasant.   
  
"My trap card is The Upper Class! If your attacking monster is not of a higher level then my monster, then it's destroyed!" Yami grimaced as the trap blew his monster into little pieces of shrapnel, ending his turn because he had no other moves to make. Now was soon as Malik started his turn he would have a monster with over two thousand attack points, strong enough to destroy his set stone soldier.  
  
He drew a card and watched his monster raise to twenty-two thousand attack strength. He glanced at his newest card and then at one of his other cards, seeing the combo he could create. At this rate it would be all to easy to destroy the Pharaoh. "I play Grave Sacrifice, removing Drillago and Beta from the cemetery to summon Hell Poemer(2000/1000) without a sacrifice!"  
  
The disgusting monster with the large cross on its back appeared, its body sending waves of offensive odor all throughout the dueling field. Yami flinched at the smell, but Malik seemed unaffected by it. "Legend Devil will destroy your set monster!"   
  
Mere moments before its claws managed to slash through the stone soldier the Legend Devil was chained up by black chains that shot out from one of Yami's set cards as it flipped up. Similar chains shot out and tied up Hell Poemer, preventing it from moving. "My Regulation of Tribe allows me to choose one sub-type, demons in this case, and as long as its active they can't attack! So end you turn!" Yami Malik shrugged and passed the turn to Yami.  
  
Yami drew his card and quickly played the Pot of Greed magic card. His hand immediately jumped up to five cards, and he plainly saw that he had what he needed. This would work out quite nicely. "I sacrifice my Giant Soldier of Stone for Curse of Dragon(2000/1000)!" The golden dragon let out a shriek as it replaced the stone soldier, ready to take flight and destroy.  
  
"Now I activate Twinkle Five Star! By sacrificing my Curse of Dragon I can special summon the five Kuribo Siblings!" The golden dragon was quickly replaced with five furry brown creatures. One was brown, one was pink, another was green, then there was a red and a white. Five little creatures each with identical stats of three hundred attack and two hundred defense.   
  
Yami Malik couldn't help but laughing, and those supporting Yami in this duel were quite uncertain about Yami's sanity. What could these five weak little fur balls do? "I'll use the effect of one of my siblings! I can discard one trap card from my hand to reduce one of your monster's attack or defense power by their combined attack strength!" The five little fur balls started rolling, coming together in the form of a white ball that collided with Legend Devil, dropping its attack to seven hundred.  
  
The five siblings separated again, leaving them perfectly intact. Yami grinned as he started his next part of this move, which would easily grant him what he needed. "I combine the five together to form Kuribablyon(1500/1000)! Whose power is the same as theirs combined. He will attack and destroy Legend Devil!" The new fur ball was vicious looking, truly appearing the part of a demon with its horn, its fangs, and black fur.  
  
It flew at the blue demon, intent on goring it with its little horn. However Yami Malik had other plans, he had no intention of having his monster crushed by such a puny creature. "I activate Demon Mirror! By discarding one card I negate your attack and deal one thousand damage!" A black mirror appeared on the field, revealing a reflection of Yami. Kuribablyon crashed through it, shattering it into pieces. (YLP: 7000)  
  
"Because Kuribablyon's attack failed, the five siblings will now return to the field!" The five little creatures reappeared, and Yami merely declared the end of his turn, knowing full well what his creatures could do. Yami Malik drew a card and grinned wickedly.  
  
His Legend Devil's attack rose to fourteen hundred, and he glanced at the card he held. It was Card of Last Will, so now all he had to do was wait for Yami to use that decreasing effect and he'd be able to gain a new hand. "I'll set one card. Now I attack with Hell Poemer!"  
  
Hell Poemer lurched forwards intent on doing serious damage with its slightly clawed hands. However, the five siblings formed into a line with the green one at the front, and a pink star appeared, blocking off the attack. "That's another effect. As long as all five are on the field I can negate your attacks!" Yami Malik sneered and finished his turn.  
  
"I set one card and combine them into Kuribablyon again. Now I destroy Legend Devil!" The black furred demon rushed forwards and speared the devil with its horn, killing it instantly. It wasn't much damage, but at least it got rid of a potentially dangerous monster before it could become even stronger. (MLP: 7900)  
  
Yami Malik drew free a card and glanced at it, smirking evilly. Here was another card that was key to his strategy. Once Yami fell into his trap he'd have the ultimate source of pain ready and waiting! "I set one card face down. Now, Hell Poemer will attack your fur ball!"  
  
It hurled itself headlong at the smaller demon, slashing at it. A single streak from its claws managed to rend the tiny demon into dozens of pieces, causing a decent amount of damage to Yami's life points. It wasn't huge, but it would certainly make Yami more eager to even things up, which was exactly what he wanted. (YLP: 6500)  
  
"You haven't seen the last of my so-called fur ball! I reveal Rope of Life!" Yami's trap revealed itself, and a hole opened up in the ground with a rope extending down into it. The rope was pulled up, and after several seconds the demonic critter appeared, clutching the rope with its teeth. It hopped off and let out a little howl, grinning evilly as its attack rose to twenty-three hundred.   
  
Yami snatched at his next card, and before he could even consider whether or not he should attack, Yami Malik revealed one of his face down cards, opening up the options for him. "Reveal Coffin Seller! From now on when one of your monsters goes to the cemetery you will take three hundred damage! So now even sacrifices are dangerous for you!" The ancient Pharaoh could only grimace, as the card he had drawn was Jack's Knight, a monster he couldn't play.   
  
"Kuribablyon, destroy his Hell Poemer!" Again the little creature attacked, ripping into the other demon with its horn and its teeth, shredding it completely. It jumped back, satisfied with its work as Malik's score lowered slightly. They were far from even, but now Yami's monster dominated the field. (MLP: 7600)  
  
"That will end my turn!" Suddenly something strange happened. A blue hand shot out of his cemetery slot and grabbed hold of his Jack's Knight. He let out a sharp cry as it pulled the card from his hand and dragged it back with it into the cemetery. He could also faintly here the notes of an eerie song being played. (YLP: 6200)  
  
"What's going on? What happened just then?" Yami Malik let out chilling laughter and opened his mouth to speak, however before he could a wide-eyed Kevin responded, a semi-horrified look on his face. Something about that look struck Yami as odd, but he couldn't place it exactly.   
  
"When destroyed in battle Hell Poemer becomes untouchable, it can't be effected by any card played by either duelist. While in the cemetery it begins to play a hellish song, and at the end of each of your battle phases it will drag a card randomly from your hand with it into the grave." Yami's eyes widened as he started to understand what had happened. He couldn't stop Hell Poemer, and whenever it dragged one of his monsters to the grave he'd lose three points for Coffin Seller. The combo was brilliant!  
  
Yami Malik drew another card, looking over his two cards. He couldn't necessarily win at this pace, but at least he was trapping the Pharaoh. Once he drew his trump card then this would all become far too easy. "I'll simply set one card face down and end my turn." The card appeared next to his other set card and to the left of the face-up Coffin Seller card.  
  
The Pharaoh drew a card, looking down at the image of a very special magic card. With this card and Malik's field nearly cleared he could more then even things up, he could turn the tide! "This duel is about to turn around Malik, because I play Pump Up, doubling Kuribablyon's attack strength!" Malik just threw back his head and laughed.  
  
Yami grimaced, not liking exactly the manner in which his opponent was laughing. How could he possibly be so confident? He had no monsters to defend himself and one of his trap cards had proven itself useless in such a situation once before. Did that mean Malik was confident in his remaining trap protecting himself, or was he bluffing. In this case he had to make a choice. "Kuribablyon, attack directly!"  
  
The little black demon launched itself straight at Malik's chest, obviously intent on doing him in just as it had finished off Legend Devil and Hell Poemer. But this time it would be doing real damage, not the measly sort it had before. When it was only five feet from Malik, the white haired lunatic sprung his first trap. "I reveal Nightmare Wheel, which will trap your monster, preventing it from attacking or splitting into its five parts!"  
  
A giant black wheel that looked like an implement for torture appeared, chains launching out to grab a hold of the little demon and hold it fast. It shrieked and struggled against its bonds, but it couldn't do anything. All Yami could do was declare the end of his turn, but as soon as he started to do so his opponent sprang his other trap. "As your demon's power leaves it, I can activate Card of Last Will, to draw five new cards!"  
  
Malik picked up six cards, five from his Card of Last Will and one for his turn's draw. As soon as he saw those cards he started to grin worse then he had been before. A vein pulsed dangerously on his forehead, threatening to explode at any moment. "I set one monster in defense mode and set two magic or trap cards. Now my Nightmare Wheel will go to work!"  
  
Yami gasped and forced himself to watch as the Nightmare Wheel did its work. It could easily have been called a torture wheel, because it stretched at the demon's body and inserted hot pokers into its flesh, bringing on agonized screams. As it did so, Yami's life points dropped. "For every turn your pathetic ball of fluff is trapped in my wheel you will take five hundred points of damage! Hahahahahahahahaha!" (YLP: 5700)  
  
Yami grimaced upon his draw, finding only the powerful Buster Blader. However, because of its strength it was a level seven monster, and needed two sacrifices. With only one monster in play he couldn't summon it, and he'd soon lose it. "I can't do anything. I pass."   
  
As soon as he declared these words the blue spectral hand rose from his cemetery and grabbed at his hand, pulling free the blader and dragging it to the depths of hell that was his graveyard pile. As soon as the monster passed on, the Coffin Seller trap started glowing a deep red color as its effect activated, draining Yami of more life points. (YLP: 5400)  
  
The psychotic dark spirit added another card to his hand and grinned wickedly at the site of it. Now all he had need of was a single card, his trump card with which to finish his opponent off. Even without it his next combo would devastate his opponent. "Pharaoh, I'd like you to meet my newest monster, Needle Worm(750/750), who when flipped forces you to discard five cards from the top of your deck!"  
  
A vicious looking little bug was revealed and it flew at Yami, assaulting him. He swatted it aside and gravely shoved his next five cards into the grave. Two of them were monsters, and the Coffin Seller greedily attacked his life points, dealing him further damage. Then the Nightmare Wheel went to work again, dealing even more damage. (YLP: 4300)  
  
"I'll lay another trap for you and summon another new monster. You should enjoy this one, she's called Tsukuyomi, the Moon Diviner!" Yami grimaced as he recognized the glowing blue spellcaster. She was a spirit monster with the ability to force any monster on the field into defense mode. The giant bug reformed into a face down brown card, and Malik finished his turn off.  
  
When it came time for the Pharaoh to make his move, all he discovered was a simple monster. Unfortunately for him it was just a basic monster, but a least he could get rid of it instead of having it taken from him and having Coffin Seller deal him damage. He was already in great trouble with Needle Worm and Tsukuyomi. "I set a monster and end my turn."  
  
With his face twisting off to the side the freaky deputy of Ihachi drew another card, and then threw his head back laughing. At last, his trump card had appeared! Now would come the end of the Pharaoh and with the Pharaoh's end he would be able to strike out against Ihachi and gain true absolute power! This realm would be his for the taking!  
  
"I sacrifice your two monsters to summon my deadliest creature, the Lava Golem!" In a blaze of fire Yami lost his two monsters, and a cage appeared around him. A huge beast formed of pure lava rose up behind him, already starting to drip lava. In each turn it would deal him one thousand damage, further completing the circle of Malik's combos. And because he lost two monsters, he lost six hundred life points. (YLP: 3700)  
  
"I'll again flip Needle Worm, forcing you to lose another group of five cards!" He dropped his cards into the cemetery, glad that he had only lost one single monster from that flip. Of course now Lava Golem was his, and Needle Worm was in attack with no way of summoning Tsukuyomi to flip it down this turn. Perhaps Yami could still recover. (YLP: 3400)  
  
As soon as the Pharaoh drew the golem's body began dripping even worse. A glob of super heated magma dropped from its fingers into the cage. Yami barely managed to dodge to the side into time to prevent his head from being incinerated. Unfortunately he wasn't fast enough to prevent some of it from hitting him, and the molten metal burned away the right corner of his left shoe, burning a tiny hole through the right side of his foot before it finished up. (YLP: 2400)  
  
Dropping to his knees in agony, the former Pharaoh cried out, screaming his pain to this child's plaything of a world. The insane Yami Malik just laughed even harder, his hair bouncing as he did so. Breathing deeply the Pharaoh pushed himself back up to standing position, now favoring his left leg and putting his weight all on his right leg.   
  
"I play one card face down, and now I shall attack your worm with my golem!" The mighty magma beast opened its jaws wide and launched out a roaring ball of fire which streaked straight towards the worm. But it didn't hit the worm, instead it hit the ground in front of the worm. The card that now appeared on Malik's field was answer enough.  
  
It was a simple grid of green glowing lines with a spherical lump in the center rising up. It was the permanent trap card that Rebecca had used on Mokuba, the Gravity Bind trap. With that in play the power of the enormous golem was reigned in. He couldn't attack with it at all. "End turn."  
  
Malik started up his turn, drawing a card and looking down at it. There were no cards he could place, and he really didn't need anything new anyways. All that he needed was already here, he would crush the Pharaoh in just a few short turns using the strength of his golem's effect and the combined powers of his various traps. All he did was summon Tsukuyomi to flip his worm into defense and then he ended his turn.  
  
As soon as he started off his turn Yami hurled himself into the edge of the cage, easily avoiding the dripping molten lava of his captor, the dreadful Lava Golem. The sulfurous smoke still had an effect on him, making breather more difficult then it should have been. Worse, he had already counted and it would take only two more turns of this and nothing else to finish him off. (YLP: 1400)  
  
Glancing down at the card he held in his hand he felt joy leap up to the surface. Of all the cards he could have drawn it was one of the very few that could save him! His deck held six monsters that were of either five stars or six, and he had already lost two of them. But now he held the third in his hand! "I shall sacrifice Lava Golem for Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700)!"  
  
He slapped the card down onto the field, and instead received a jolt of electricity. He grunted and drew back the card, looking towards the flashing of his life point counter. For a moment instead of showing his life points it showed two words that confused him. ILLEGAL MOVE it said, but how could sacrificing the golem be illegal?  
  
"Trying to sacrifice are we? It won't work while I use this trap card, Mask of Restrict to prevent either of us from sacrificing monsters for any reason whatsoever. Now the Lava Golem can't be sacrificed and can't attack, so each turn it will kill you a little bit more. Welcome to your worst nightmare Pharaoh, because you've just entered the Lava Lock!" Malik's laughter echoed throughout all of the false Eden, and none there could see any way out for Yami. He truly seemed doomed to defeat, and he had hardly touched Malik the entire duel.  
  
Unable to do anything further the one time Pharaoh declared the end of his turn. He had almost forgotten about the hellish song being played, but his reminder came when the blue hand reached out and tugged away his Dark Magician Girl, taking with it his hope of grasping victory. Of course it only meant more pain for him as well. (YLP: 1100)  
  
Malik sneered as he drew, well aware that he could potentially finish the Pharaoh off in this next move. It would be all too easy, the Pharaoh hadn't even been a challenge to him! What a pathetic laugh! Once he was finished with this fool, he'd show Dalin the new power of his deck and have his revenge on that arrogant fool for handing him his previous defeat!   
  
"I set one card face down, and now I flip Needle Worm! Lose your cards Pharaoh, lose them and die for it!" The bug appeared again, and Yami calmly pulled free five cards. He held them up in front of his face, examining them for a moment, and then he shoved them into his cemetery slot. Malik glanced towards his Coffin Seller trap, but nothing happened, telling him that his opponent hadn't discarded any monsters at all.  
  
"I believe that this time you're the one who has fallen into my hands Malik! Not only didn't I lose any monsters, but because an effect sent cards to the cemetery I can activate my placed trap card, Fallen Angel's Gift, which will return all five cards to my hand!" A blue skinned demon showed itself on the trap card that flipped up, and Yami calmly ejected the cards from his graveyard and held them carefully, now giving him a full span of options.   
  
"Why can't you just die like a normal person? It doesn't matter anyways, no matter what cards you draw it'll just take another turn or so under the influence of my monster and then you'll be dead! So take your pathetic turn and then suffer!" His face was not happy, but he was still confident. The Pharaoh stood no chance against him, no options could help out at this juncture. The duel was already set.  
  
Yami brought his hand up to six cards with a single draw, and he casually sidestepped the downpour of lava that could have eliminated him completely. Some how he had known exactly where it would fall this time, and it seemed that with this knowledge he had regained that cockiness that he had whenever he was about to do something to turn the tide of a duel and win....but that was impossible wasn't it? (YLP: 100)  
  
The Pharaoh smirked as he turned one of his cards around, showing it to Malik before he activated it. The horror of exactly what the card was flooded through the dark spirit as he became aware of the fact that he hadn't summoned Tsukuyomi, so his Needle Worm was in attack mode!  
  
"I use Heavy Storm to clear the field of all your traps!" A huge gust of wind and a downpour of water blasted away all of Malik's well laid plans, clearing the way for a devastating attack by the golem. But it didn't matter, he would survive it. The Pharaoh on the other hand hadn't lost any monsters from Needle Worm so hadn't gotten any by Fallen Angel's Gift. That meant that he would die as soon as his next turn started.  
  
"Now I activate Black Magic Ritual, offering the Lava Golem to summon Magician of Black Chaos(2800/2600)!" Two black fancy pots appeared, and the golem was sucked into both pots, splitting into individual streams of magma as it did so. Moments later the special wizard appeared, swinging his staff around as he was at the ready.  
  
"I'll set one card face down, and now I attack your Needle Worm!" A sphere of chaotic energies erupted from the staff and traveled across the ground, splitting it apart as it went. The bug let out a cry that must have been pain as it was ripped apart by the energy, and Malik's life points suffered because of it, the first major damage he had taken the whole duel. (MLP: 5550)  
  
"That's all for now!" The phantom arm sprang out of his grave and grabbed one of his two cards, pulling it into the abyss. However it wasn't enough to leave Yami's hand empty, so he retained one card which might yet prove useful. Malik on the other hand still had more options to work with, so there was no telling what he would do.  
  
Yami Malik drew a card, giving him a total of six in his hand. He smirked, knowing that his next play would crush the Pharaoh once and for all, and he would make it especially painful for him! Nobody crushed his strategies and got away with it, nobody! "I play Victimize, which lets me discard cards instead of sacrificing, so I discard one trap and one monster to summon Masked Beast Des Guardias(3300/2500)!"  
  
The wicked looking clawed mask wearing beast was just the first of the Pharaoh's worries, and not the true threat either. He had something much worse in mind, a creature that would surpass any power the Pharaoh could imagine! "I sacrifice my beast for the mightiest of all creatures, Great Maju Gerzett whose attack is double that of the monster sacrifice for him, placing his power at an astounding sixty-six hundred!"  
  
The creature that now stood before Malik and ready to attack was an abomination. That was the easiest way of describing it. It seemed to be made of the flesh of thousands of other creatures, all compiled together into a disgusting walking....thing. However, its power was nothing to be laughed at. "Great Maju Gerzett will now finish you once and for all!"  
  
The creature attacked, hurling itself bodily at the much weaker magician that faced it confidently. Despite that confidence the Magician of Black Chaos wouldn't be able to survive that attack, and neither would Yami. "Reveal Power Cancellation, which switches all monsters on the field into defense mode!" Both monsters moved into a crouch, meaning that the magician was safe and Malik had nothing more he could do that turn but set a single card and end his turn.  
  
Yami casually drew a card, knowing that despite his current semi-advantage he couldn't let himself become overconfident. Unless he kept his advantage he wouldn't stand much of a chance. And the card he had just drawn would do that when combined with his other card. "I play Monster Reborn to revive Dark Magician Girl(2000/1700)!"  
  
The magic using girl came out and twirled around, flashing a wink to both of the duelists. Malik grinned lecherously at her and she frowned, backing away from him. "Now I use Jewel of the Wise to bring out the Dark Magician(2500/2100) from my deck!" The purple robed magic user joined his apprentice on the field and both casually offered a bow to the stronger Magician of Black Chaos.   
  
"Your Gerzett may be unstoppable in attack mode, but it has zero defense points! My Dark Magician Girl will rip through it, and my other two magician's will rip through your life points!" An furious assault of various magical attacks speared through the composite beast and then into Malik, knocking him over and dropping his life points so far that they were nearly in line with Yami's. (MLP: 250)  
  
Malik's fists shook with rage as he drew his card. He slammed it onto the field in defense mode, putting a wall between the Pharaoh's monsters and him. Hopefully the pointy haired freak wouldn't find a way past it, otherwise he would be finished! How could things have gone wrong so quickly?  
  
Yami drew and quickly placed his card down, knowing that if he didn't he'd loose it come the end of his turn. Not that it mattered, Malik's face down obviously couldn't help him and there was no creature that could stand up to his next attack. "Dark Magician Girl attacks!" A blaze of pink energy collided with something big, and then the creature was revealed, unharmed.  
  
"HAHAHAHAHAHA! You've attacked Plasma Eel(500/1200)! This monster can't be destroyed by battle, allowing me the perfect wall from your attacks!" The metallic eel clinched its pincers and Yami could only grimace as he ends his turn. He had no way past the eel at the moment, but perhaps he could find a way soon enough.  
  
Malik drew his card and smirked, well aware that now the duel was his to claim victory with. The single card in his hand would end everything as soon as the Pharaoh started his next turn. Nobody defeated him and got away with it, and from now on nobody defeated him period. "I sacrifice Dark Magician and Magician of Black Chaos for the second Lava Golem(3000/2500)!"   
  
For the second time in that duel Yami was surrounded by a black cage and towered over by the huge dripping lava beast. The Dark Magician Girl yelped as she jumped away in time to avoid being burned alive by a down pour of magma. "I end my turn, and as soon as you start yours it will be your end! Victory is at last mine!"   
  
Yami drew, and lava gushed into the cage, covering him to completely annihilate him. It was all over, and as soon as the lava was finished with its work in burning away any left overs of a corpse, Malik would move on to crushing Dalin. Victory was sweet, and in this case it was also extra crispy. "MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAHAHA!"  
  
"I wouldn't laugh yet Malik, because this duel isn't over!" Malik's eyes widened in horror at the sound of that voice, the impossible voice. It was the Pharaoh's voice! The deluge of lava ceased, and Yami was revealed unharmed and ready to continue. He smirked at his opponent and raised one arm to point at his now face-up trap card, the trap that had saved his life.  
  
"Trap of Board Eraser negates any non-battle damage dealt to me in this turn and forces you to discard a card. Since you don't have any it doesn't matter, but I still managed to escape the golem's burn unharmed." Malik's face twisted to the side, nearly splitting in two from his own rage. Again the Pharaoh slipped away from defeat! It couldn't be possible! How could one person avoid death so many times and do it so well each time!  
  
"I play Card of Sanctity!" Both duelists swiftly and surely drew six cards, giving them full hands. As he did so, Malik glanced down at his set card, waiting for the right moment to use it. He had to know exactly what the Pharaoh would do, otherwise using it might not work as well as he could hope for.   
  
"My next card is Revival of the Gods! By sacrificing one monster on the field and half of my life points I can revive any number of monsters from the graveyard! I'm sacrificing Lava Golem to bring about this effect!" The cage vanished as did the golem, and an aurora of light surrounded the Pharaoh, readying whatever was to come next. (YLP: 50)  
  
"Now come forth, Dark Magician, Magician of Black Chaos, and Dark Sage(2800/3200)!" The three monsters appeared on the field in the order they were named, each of them giving each other respectful bows of the head. The Dark Sage however, in all its old and wizened glory, got deep bows from the three other monsters.   
  
Malik once again glanced at his set card, and then readied himself to use it. The effect of the Dark Sage allowed the Pharaoh to place a magic card from his deck into his hand, and it was bound to be something to eliminate his Plasma Eel. He just had to hope now. "I activate Reward of Discard, which gives me one thousand life points for each card I discard!" He shoved all six cards into the cemetery, well aware that one of cards he had discarded allowed him to remove it to negate the destruction of one his monsters. (MLP: 6250)  
  
Yami had just finished searching his deck and he smirked as he added the card to his hand, ready to use it. This card was difficult to use, but highly effective if used correctly. Now he could use it correctly, and it was going to win him the duel. "The card I've chosen is known as Ragnarok! It can only be activated when I have these four monsters on the field! It will remove all other monsters in my deck from the game, and then removed all of your monsters on the field from the game, clearing a path for me towards victory!"  
  
Malik gasped and staggered backwards, only his pure force of will keeping him standing. The card had just removed his last defense, the Plasma Eel. Because it had been removed from the game instead of being destroyed, he couldn't stop it. He was now totally defenseless! "No....this is impossible! This can't be happening, I am unstoppable, I am invincible!"   
  
Yami just raised one arm, palm raised up and fingers spread out as wide as they would go. His mouth was in a tight line and his eyes were fiercely determined as he gave the final command of the duel. "Dark Magician Girl, Dark Magician, Magician of Black Chaos, and Dark Sage will now all attack directly. For the last few moments of your existence remember these words: Noone is invincible, not you and not your goddess up there. She will fall shortly, just as you have. IT'S OVER!"  
  
The four magical attacks covered his body, blistering it and tearing at it. He tried to put up a magical defense, but without the power of the Millennium Rod he simply wasn't strong enough to defend himself against the magnitude of these combined attacks. He was vaporized, leaving no trace that he had ever existed.  
  
Each of the duelists there turned their gaze upwards and aware from the smoldering streak of dirt where Malik had once stood. Their eyes were focused on their goal, the temple that contained the last threat. Ihachi was in that temple, and now they had no obstacles in getting there.   
  
The temple gleamed white in the sun, and within it Ihachi began to laugh. They would not worship? Then they would all have to burn under her gaze, burn and seethe in agony at her power! None could challenge the Goddess, not in her very own temple. "Let them come, I will crush them all into powder that not even time will remember. Let them come!"  
  
(End)  
  
Author's Notes: Phew, I'm amazed at myself. I got most of this done in one day when I had the day off cause my dad was being nice. Pretty amazing huh? Also I'd like to note that a large portion of the strategy Malik was using, as some of you know, is the same strategy that I use in my deck. A Lava Lock.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Malik: Victimize(first used by Kaiba), Reward of Discard  
  
Yami: Revival of the Gods  
  
Anime Series Cards: The Upper Class(Battle City Finals), Demon Mirror(Battle City Finals), Twinkle Five Star(Doom), The Five Siblings(Doom), Pump Up(Doom), Fallen Angel's Gift(Battle City Finals), Held in One's Hand(Doom), Power Cancelation(Doom), Plasma Eel(Battle City Finals), Ragnarok(Battle City Finals, note: I don't think I used the exact effect of this card) 


	33. Goddess in the Palace

Author's Note: Simple today isn't it? I don't own Yu-gi-oh.  
  
Author's Notes: I feel proud of myself that I finished 'The Long Awaited Duel' on July the Fourth and then got serious work in on this chapter before going to sleep. Today I had off from working because it was the 4th, I gotta thank my Dad for being nice in that manner.   
  
Quote of the Chapter: "I tried looking for a book on how to clean our basement in the horror section." -Someone I know online's mother  
  
Advert of the Chapter: Today's advertisement is not a Yugioh story. Its an Inuyasha fanfic known as 'On a Leash' by Moonlight Shadow4. In this fantastic story our favorite hanyou is more worthy of his name then ever. In fact he's become a dog thanks to a curse placed on him, and who picks him up from the pound but everybody's favorite schoolgirl, Kagome. Read and find out how Inuyasha deals with being a dog, and whether or not he manages to free himself from the chains that bind him. Or rather, the leash that binds him. See him run, see him hide, see him wet the Goshinboku!  
  
Chapter Thirty-Two: Goddess in the Palace  
  
The sounds of feet thundering on stone and marble steps was all that could be heard aside from the falling breath of the owners of those feet. Up and up they went, heading towards the top of the steps and towards the entrance to the temple. The whole gang, or what was left of them, were going up. It was Serenity, Yami, Bakura, Kai, Dalin, and Kevin. Those were all who remained. Six to face off against the implacable Ihachi.  
  
Six sets of feet stopped as they reached the top of the steps. Six pairs of eyes stared at the colonnades and arches that made up the entrance to Ihachi's temple, to her palace. Once they crossed through that doorway they would be in for the fight of their lives. They had to be ready for it, or the world would suffer and die.  
  
There was no more waiting, no more stopping, no more interuptions. This was the final moment before they would have to find within themselves their greatest strength, or perish. This woman, Ihachi, had defeated Seto Kaiba in one turn. To defeat her would take more power then they had ever thought they would need.  
  
Slowly those six sets of feet moved forwards, passing under the arches and into the brilliant light of the inner sanctuary of the temple. Inside it was even larger then they could have thought, with massive marble columns soaring over a hundred feet upwards.   
  
At the far end of the temple was an altar, and just beyond the altar was a magnificent throne that seemed to be formed of pure light. Sitting upon that throne was Ihachi, now wearing a flowing gown of red silk with a plunging v-neck line that displayed generous amounts of cleavage. With a scepter in her right hand and her left hand rest on the arm of her throne, she looked every bit the goddess.  
  
Completing the look were people they didn't recognize, perhaps Rare Hunters perhaps not. What they were doing was something you only saw in movies about the Romans or the Greeks. One of them fed her grapes, and two more fanned her with giant leaves. The fourth and final servant rested on his hands and knees, acting as a foot rest for Ihachi.   
  
Their feet clomped against the marble floor as they approached her, closing in on their target. What they noticed most about this temple, other then Ihachi herself, were the things attached to the columns. Attached to each column was a person, chained against it and most often stripped to the waist and left in nothing but a loin cloth, or in the case of women a loincloth and a tan covering for a top.  
  
They recognized faces, they recognized every agonized face up there. Each face belonged to one of those who had fallen, except for a rare few who had not fallen prey to Ihachi's games and had gone in other ways. Seto Kaiba, Joey Wheeler, Yugi Moto....  
  
Serenity's eyes went wide as she became the first person to spot that face. She raised her arm and pointed, her voice filled with shock and amazement. "Look!" The person she pointed at was none other then Kirani, who instead of being chained to a column was chained to part of Ihachi's throne.   
  
They had not recognized her at first because her face was downcast, and even now as she raised her eyes to them it was hard to understand that she really was Kirani. They Kirani that they knew was a strong and proud person, but this person's eyes had the look of one who has lost all hope. There was no spark of recognition in her eyes, only despair. She was dead inside.  
  
"So, you have come to me not as my loyal worshipers, but as my enemies. I will not tolerate disobedience in my realm, least of all in my temple, my palace. I could crush you all where you stand, but I will take greater joy in crushing you in the game used to select you." With a flicker of her wrist she dispersed her servants, each of them walking to a corner to await her next command.  
  
She rose to her feet and glided down the steps until she stood across from them not twenty feet away. As she moved her silken dress changed until she wore a tight fitting red blouse and skin hugging red leather pants. She raised her arm and a duel disk appeared upon it, deck already in and it already activated.   
  
"I'd like this to be interesting, and since I know facing any one of you won't be a challenge, I want to face you two at a time. When one falls another may step forward to replace him or her. The replacement will begin with the same number of cards as they person they replaced held, but drawn from their own deck. They will not be able to use the effect of the deck the first person used. They will however start with full life points." (ILP: 8000)  
  
She grinned widely, a grin that nearly mirrored the familiar grin that Drake wore whenever he was about to face a challenge that he was confident he could overcome. The whole group looked to each other, trying to decide exactly who would be the first to duel. Before anyone else could speak it was Yami who stepped forwards, activating his duel disk. (YLP: 8000)  
  
The next thing that happened was that Kai turned around, suddenly knowing what he had to do. He stopped in front of Dalin and held out his hand, extending the card he held towards the larger and older duelist. "This card is for you, I was told to give it to its rightful owner, and I feel that you are the rightful owner."   
  
Dalin glanced down at the card he had been given and recognized the blue card and the image of the blue god upon it. Obelisk the Tormentor, third of the Egyptian god cards. Now he held all three. He gave Kai a slight nod and then inserted the card into his deck.   
  
With that done, Kai turned and approached Ihachi, stepping up beside Yami to become the second duelist that she would be facing. Yami gave him a brief nod which Kai returned, and then he too activated his duel disk. "I will be your other opponent. You better hope you've got real power, otherwise you'll be finished quickly enough." (KLP: 8000)  
  
Ihachi let out a laugh of pure crystal, her voice sending shivers up all of their spines as she spoke. There was something about her lilting and sensual tones that held an essence of darkness to it that they could detect. Her voice held the ring of evil. "Very well, the order shall be me, the Pharaoh, and then the guard. I find it very amusing that you are my opponents. Anyways, my deck master is the simple creature called Spirit Jackal, whose effect I won't use the whole duel, only till I get bored with it."  
  
She smirked as the jackal in human form appeared, riding another jackal like creature. It stood behind her, feet pressed firmly against the ground. Yami searched his deck and selected his monster, holding it up and watching as the dark robed spellcaster appeared behind him. "My deck master will be Skilled Dark Magician!"  
  
Kai started to search for his Breaker, but suddenly an idea struck him. The things that had happened in the Memory Tomb had taught him that predictability was also a weakness, and the past made things predictable. He wasn't going to be predictable. "I choose XYZ Dragon Cannon to be my deck master!" The massive combination creature appeared, showing its full power as it towered over the other two deck masters.  
  
Ihachi casually drew her opening hand, looking it over with cool disinterest. While she did this the other two were doing the same things, deciding on what sort of first moves they would like to make and wondering what their deck masters did. Unlike them, Ihachi knew what her deck master could do, and she knew what she would do.  
  
"What a pity, a bad hand. Oh well, I guess I'll just have to settle for playing a monster in defense mode." The brown backed card appeared, large and more real looking then most holograms were. This made them notice that the detail one their deck masters was more intricate as well. Kai swore he saw the chrome on his deck master shine in the ambient light of the temple.  
  
Yami looked over his hand again as he drew a new card and slowly settled on a move. He couldn't attack yet, so that wasn't an option. In this two on one duel the first person who would be allowed to attack would be Kai, so for the moment he'd just supply back up and let Kai make that choice. "I set two cards face down and summon Beta the Magnet Warrior(1700/1400)!"  
  
The earthen soldier was summoned to the field, all its power crackling around it. To his surprise he saw his puzzle start to lift up, pointing straight towards his monster. It was so real that it really was a magnet warrior! It was generating a magnet field that was giving a slight pull to his Millennium Puzzle. "I think this game is more real then we anticipated."  
  
Ihachi let out a crystalline laugh again, raising one hand to her mouth in a haughty sort of manner. Yami and Kai grimaced as she did so, but she couldn't help but laugh at his worry. "Of course its more real. This is the Shadow Realm even if I have made alterations, and I've been holding back the real power of this realm up until now. But now it will leak in and drain you of strength, sapping you of power each moment you are active here. Can you handle the pressure?"  
  
Kai didn't even blink as he drew a card, nor did he waver. He felt no weaker then he had the moment this duel started. In fact he felt stronger then he ever had before. He was determined, he was focused, and he wouldn't give in to mere parlor tricks. "I set one card face down and summon Skilled White Magician(1700/1900)!"  
  
The white robed magician now stood in front of him, a casual breeze through the temple ruffling his robes. He raised his staff in a salute to his master, and Kai raised one hand in a return salute. "Skilled White Magician, attack her face down!" The mage raised his staff and unleashed a blaze of white energy at the defending monster, but before it struck the energy exploded, rocking Kai and Yami and unbalancing both of their monsters. (KLP: 7700)  
  
The thing that had proved too strong from Kai's attack was revealed. It was a beautiful woman with a cruel sneer on her face, a black leather outfit snug against her body. A faint blue glow rose off her body, and her eyes were shaped like cat's irises. "Thank you Kai, you attack my Goddess of Wicked Destruction(1500/2000). Not only was she stronger then your monster, but whenever a monster is involved in battle with Goddess of Wicked Destruction, the opposing monster is destroyed."  
  
The goddess snapped her fingers, and Skilled White Magician let out a cry of agony. Slowly he sunk to his knees, holding his middle as something ate away at him from the inside. After several seconds of this, he fell face first to the ground, unable to rise. That is, until Spirit Jackal fired off a beam of energy that surrounded Skilled White Magician.  
  
"Did I mention Spirit Jackal's effect? When a monster is destroyed after being in battle I can choose to special summon it under my control. So I thank you for the monster." Skilled White Magician rose and calmly walked over to her side of the field, now completely under Ihachi's control. Kai grimaced, but since he had nothing else he could do he declared the end of his turn.  
  
Ihachi drew another card, replenishing her hand so that it once again contained six cards. She looked at her card and shrugged casually, the action causing a few laces to come undone on her blouse. For some reason Kai got the impression she had done that on purpose. "I play Heavy Storm."  
  
A heavy wind started to whip through the temple, intent on destroying all of Yami and Kai's placed cards. Though Kai would have nothing left he could count on his partner to help him if it came time, just as he was helping his partner by saving his cards. "I activate Spell Shield Type-8, discarding a card to negate and destroy Heavy Storm!"  
  
The wind continued for a moment more, then it fizzled out, leaving all of their cards unharmed. Once again Ihachi sighed and shrugged, undoing another lace. She glanced over her cards for a few more brief moments and then casually placed a card onto the field and watched as it materialized. "That's all I can manage. Go ahead and make your move."  
  
Yami drew a card and sneered as he put together a plan of action. But before that he had something he had to say. "I don't know how you defeated Kaiba at all, let alone one turn. You are weak, and I will shortly crush you beneath by my heel." He selected the card he needed to play and placed it onto the field, taking another off as he did so.  
  
"I sacrifice Beta for Beformet(1400/1500), allowing me to place a Gazelle into my hand. Now that I have Gazelle I activate Polymerization, fusing Gazelle and Berfomet into Chimera the Flying Beast(2100/2000)!" The two monsters, one red and one brown, jumped into the swirling vortex of the fusion card. What emerged was a creature with two heads, the body of a lion, and all the ferocity of the legendary creature itself.   
  
"Chimera will destroy Skilled White Magician!" The beast launched itself forward, biting down on the Skilled White Magician's shoulder with one mouth and goring the magician's chest with the other. The mage struggled against the implacable hold of the Chimera, but it was unable to stop the devastation happening to it. Shortly it was dead.   
  
The watched her, and to their surprise her life points didn't alter in the slightest. Yami's gaze turned towards his partner when Kai let out a small gasp, and to his surprise he discovered that instead of Ihachi taking damage, it was Kai who was losing life points. "What's going on?" (KLP: 7300)  
  
Ihachi let out a laugh that was reminiscent of tinkling glass with all the sharpness of that glass as well. "The monster was Kai's after all. What? You thought I'd take damage when one of his creatures was destroyed? I'd never allow something so foolish!" She put a hand to her heart as she laughed, displaying just how funny she thought the situation was. The other two duelists just grimaced and settled themselves in for a tougher duel then they thought.  
  
Yami started to end his turn, but before he did he noticed something out of the corner of his eye. One of the crystal spheres that his Skilled Dark Magician used to display if it had a magic counter....was glowing. So was the second one. That meant that Skilled Dark Magician still gained magic counters whenever a magic card was played....but to what purpose? Was it just to summon the Dark Magician, or could he do something else with them? "End turn."  
  
Kai drew a card and slowly followed Yami's gaze to the Skilled Dark Magician. His thoughts followed the same trend that Yami's had, but just like his partner he had no real answer. He could only hazard a guess at what his deck master's effect was, and testing it right now might not be a good idea. "I set one card face down and summon Kycoo the Ghost Destroyer(1800/400). End."  
  
The monk appeared in front of Kai and bowed deeply to him. Then it turned its gaze upon the Goddess of Wicked Destruction who cast him a fierce glare. The goddess was determined to let Kycoo and Chimera know that she was not afraid of them, for she was above them. Quite an eerie thing to think, but Kai was certain that the monsters had personalities in this place, that they were every bit as real as he was.  
  
Ihachi plucked another card free, examining it and her nails after doing so. However before she could make any move Kai made his. "Activate Dust Tornado!" The card flipped up and sent a whirling vortex of sand and dust at Ihachi's face down card. She made no move to activate it and watched, with a happy expression, as it was destroyed completely.  
  
"Why thank you Kai. You destroyed Apple of Freyja, which allows me to draw a card when it leaves the field." She happily drew another card, once again putting her at a hand of six cards. She surveyed her hand for several more seconds before smiling brightly and selecting the cards she wanted to play.  
  
"I'll set two magic or trap cards face down. Then its back to hair boy over there." She winked at Yami who grimaced and watched her cards appear instead. Both he and Kai were having similar thoughts, wondering exactly what Ihachi's strategy was and why she didn't seem to really be making any moves. This kind of strategy couldn't possibly have defeated Kaiba in one move, so what was she hiding?  
  
Yami took that moment to look at his newly drawn card, and he smiled slightly. If he was right in his hypothesis about his deck master's effect, then shortly he'd be dealing serious damage to Ihachi. That would show her that she had to take them serious. "Ihachi, in moments you'll learn what taking duelists such as us for granted accomplishes. Watch and learn Ihachi, as I activate Defusion!"  
  
Kai looked at his partner quizically, wondering why he had just undone the work he had done in the previous turn. However as the last sphere lit up on the Skilled Dark Magician, Kai had a feeling he was about to find out. "I sacrifice Berfomet and Gazelle to summon Dark Magician(2500/2100)!" The purple robed magic user appeared in their place and then did the most astonishing thing that had happened in the duel.  
  
"My Pharaoh, it has been a long time since last you brought me out. I, your servant Mahado, await your command." Yami stood agape as his long time favorite monster addressed him as if they had long known each other. And perhaps they had, for strange things happened in the Shadow Realm. But if this Mahado, the Dark Magician, knew him as Pharaoh....perhaps he knew his name!  
  
"Mahado...I have forgotten much, it has been far too long. Do you....do you remember my name?" Mahado provided him with a deep bow and smiled fondly as if at a long time friend or companion. Then Mahado did exactly what Yami had been hoping for....he nodded.   
  
"You are the Pharaoh Atem. I am your faithful servant and protector as I have been since my death at the hands of the thief Bakura long ago." Yami's eyes widened further with each and every word. He could see patches of memory in his mind, long forgotten things that were only now revealed to him. He remember so much now, but yet so little. Most important of all....he knew his own name. He was no longer merely the dark aspect of Yugi with a hidden past. He was Atem, former Pharaoh of Egypt.  
  
"Mahado, shortly I will ask you to attack, but first I must do more. What I will do is activate the effect of my deck master, removing the three magic counters he has in order to special summon a monster from my deck. So come forth, Valkyrion the Magna Warrior(3500/3850)!" The powerful composite warrior appeared in all his glory, a strong magnetic pull coming from this new and deadly warrior.   
  
"Next I play Monster Reborn to revive Chimera! And I will begin by attacking with Chimera to eliminate Goddess of Wicked Destruction. When she falls Mahado shall destroy Chimera after he comes under your control. Then I shall finish up with a direct attack by Valkyrion. Feel my wrath Ihachi!" Chimera flew across the field, intent on its goal, intent on gaining another meal.  
  
Mahado's eyes widened in that brief moment, widened as he heard that name and connected it with a similar name he had heard of spoken in hushed tones, thought of only as false rumors and legends. Any papyrus scroll that contained that similar name contained a picture, and this woman was the one pictured. "Impossible....Ihami...."  
  
Ihachi smirked as she snapped her fingers together and went into action. "Since you've targeted a monster with 'goddess' in its name with an attack I can activate Black Matter Chaos. This will remove each of your monsters from the game. So quickly won, quickly lost." Mahado whirled around, desperate to inform his Pharaoh of what he knew while he had the chance, but it was too late.  
  
A pinpoint of darkness appeared where Ihachi's card had been, and suddenly the force of a black hole was activate, pulling all but Ihachi's creatures into it. Everyone else grabbed hold of pillars to avoid being pulled in, all except Dalin and Ihachi who stood strong. There was something else that...Yami's gaze pulled away before his mind confirmed anything, and he watched as his monsters all disappeared into the dark pinpoint.   
  
Kai grimaced, knowing there was nothing more that Yami, or Atem or whatever he was called, could do in that turn. He drew a card and looked down at it, only seeing a monster. However, it would be useful for him to bring it into play to give himself another monster to use. "I summon Skilled Dark Magician(1900/1700)."  
  
His black robed mage appeared, but as soon as he did Ihachi went into action, snapping her fingers to activate her remaining placed card. It flipped up, revealing a card that Kai recognized. As soon as he saw it, he grimaced, knowing what was going to happen next. "I activate Blind Attack, forcing both of your monsters to attack!"  
  
Skilled Dark Magician launched a beam of energy at Goddess of Wicked Destruction and Kycoo chucked a pair of ofuda at her. She made no move to block the attacks, they simply fizzled out feet in front of her. Then both of his monsters underwent the same agonizing death that his Skilled White Magician went through, and each of them was struck by the light of Spirit Jackal and moved to her side of the field. (KLP: 7000)  
  
Unable to make any further moves Kai just declared the end of his turn. Ihachi happily drew her card and showed it to them, a green pot that every duelist there easily recognized. "Pot of Greed lets me draw two cards...oh wait, being experienced duelists you already knew that." She smirked and drew her cards, once again bringing her back up to six cards in hand.  
  
"I think I'll just set one card. Of course now I activate Shot From the Dark. I'm guessing you recognize this, and so I'm using it to reactivate Heavy Storm. This time, there's no stopping it." For the second time in that duel the winds picked up, tossing about their face down cards. Finally the cards were picked up and hurled away, shattering into pieces against the ground or against the columns. But what made no sense was that she had destroyed her own card moments after placing it!  
  
"I bet you're confused, aren't you? Well the card I set was a bit like Apple of Freyja, an effect activates when it's destroyed. Its called Rogue Flame, and now that's its gone I can special summon a special type of monster to the field. I special summon Valkyrie Brunhilde(1800/2000)." The monster that was summoned was a strong looking woman in armor and on a white horse. She didn't seem too impressive, but Kai had this feeling in the pit of his stomach that his creature was bad news.  
  
"Next I'm going to shift my Goddess of Wicked Destruction into attack mode. And in this game, considering that rules are different, I'll sacrifice Skilled Dark Magician to special summon Dark Magician from Kai's deck!" The monster shattered, replacing by another purple clad magician. This one, however identical it was to the magician Yami/Atem had used, it didn't speak.   
  
"Now that I've got all of these monsters, I'm just going to finish Kai off once and for all. All of my monsters shall attack directly!" Each of the monsters moved in for the kill, Brunhilde using her blade to slash at him, Dark Magician firing a beam of purple energy, Kycoo throwing ofuda, and Goddess of Wicked Destruction shooting beams of energy from her eyes.  
  
Each of the attacks slammed into him, each one more painful then the last. He knew that the end was about to come, but he knew that there was nothing he could do. It made no sense, Drake had been certain he would play a larger role in the final duel, but here he was about to be defeated.   
  
The purple beam of energy from his own Dark Magician closed in, the final attack that would finish him off. But before it hit something popped out of nowhere and took the hit, getting blown into tiny little smoldering brown pieces. Kai and Ihachi both looked around for the culprit, and there was Atem, holding the card in his hand. "My Kuriboh defends my partner from the attack of the Dark Magician, keeping him in this duel." (KLP: 1900)  
  
Kai let out a deep breath as soon as this was over. Atem flashed him a thumbs up, and Kai responded in kind. It looked like using Spell Shield Type-8 had been the first part, and Atem, or Yami or whoever, had responded in kind by defending his life points. "Thanks."  
  
Atem smirked as he drew a card, knowing what he had to do now. He had one monster he could summon, but he didn't know if he should do so as it could hurt Kai....no, it would hurt him. "I set one card face down, and sacrifice my deck master's three counters to special summon Chaos Soldier(3000/2500) from my deck." The blade wielding master warrior was summoned, brandishing his blade and ready to attack and defeat Ihachi's creatures.  
  
"Kai....do you trust me?" Kai blinked in surprise at this question, but he understood quickly enough. He flashed Atem a grin, and the one time Pharaoh smiled back. They had an understanding. "Chaos Soldier will cut the Dark Magician down to size!" It jumped across the field and literally sliced Dark Magician in half, blood and bone splattering across the ground. Nothing touched Ihachi though, she remained pristine. (KLP: 1400)  
  
Kai drew a card and then slowly grinned. He cast a glance back at his deck master and understood that the risk was worth it. If what he hoped to do worked, then he would save them a bit of trouble. But first thing he had to do was get rid the threat on him by doing it in himself. "I'll activate my deck master effect, discarding a card to destroy Goddess of Wicked Destruction!"  
  
XYZ Dragon Cannon charged its weapons and unleashed a deadly barrage at the Goddess. Because it wasn't battle the Goddess couldn't destroy XYZ, and she was destroyed completely, enough revenge for him. Now he had to get rid of Kycoo before she did something with it, he would leave Brunhilde for later. "I play Monster Reborn on Dark Magician!"   
  
The purple clad mage appeared again, readying its staff. Kai thrust one hand at pointing towards Kycoo, and he gave the command. "Destroy Kycoo!" A blast of dark magic later and Kycoo was no more, leaving Brunhilde the only creature left on Ihachi's field. (KLP: 700)  
  
Ihachi rolled her eyes at his stupidity. Whatever his thoughts were on the matter, killing off Kycoo had been dumb. He had just wanted to kill it on his own terms, whereas she would have slammed it into Chaos Soldier in order to deal even more damage to him. "I'll play the permanent magic card, Curse of War, a sort of field effect like Goddess of Wicked Destruction's effect."  
  
"Brunhilde will attack Chaos Soldier, and Curse of War will prevent the life point damage and destroy your soldier!" Brunhilde's shield was sliced nearly in half by Chaos Soldier's retaliatory swing, but for some reason Brunhilde herself remained intact, unharmed in any way. Chaos Soldier shuddered and died moments later, and then moved to Ihacih's side.  
  
"If Brunhilde would be destroyed I can reduce her attack by one thousand to let her remain on the field. With that explanation out of the way, I'll destroy the Dark Magician with my new Chaos Soldier!" The soldier rushed across the field in order to cut down the magician, and Kai briefly wished that he had reborned Valkyrion instead of reviving Dark Magician because of sentimental value.   
  
"Reveal trap, Regulation of Tribe! And I choose warriors!" Ihachi rolled her eyes as the chains shot out and stopped Chaos Soldier from attacking. With that done, Ihachi declared her turn as over, giving the move to Yami who had little he could do, no matter what he drew.   
  
The Pharaoh drew a card, but he found himself with far too few options. He sadly placed only a single card, and then motioned for Kai to start his turn. Ihachi's cards, individual cards that was, were proving very deadly. It was like her deck was designed around cards with terribly powerful effects, but there had to be more to it then that.  
  
Kai drew a card and contemplated whether he should use his deck master effect again. No, he'd wait for a moment before doing that. He swiftly placed a card down on the field, watching as it appeared, and then he chose to make his move. Curse of War only worked when she attacked, so taking it out was pointless at the moment. "Dark Magician attacks Brunhilde!"  
  
The blast of dark magic shattered the rest of her shield, and Ihachi dropped her defense power to zero points, leaving her nearly defenseless. However, because Curse of War only worked on her turn, she was going to be taking the damage. Behind him he heard the others cheer as she took damage for the first time in the duel. (ILP: 7300)  
  
Suddenly she started laughing, clear and crystal laughter, laughter that spoke of true humor. Laughter that screamed, 'you're and idiot'. "The guard does a little bit of damage and you lot cheer? How absolutely pathetic! Watch my turn, and watch what true power can do. I will spare the guard for a turn because he amuses me, and so I can show you power. I will crush all of you soon enough!" Kai blinked, still wondering why she kept calling him 'guard'. What was she talking about?  
  
She drew and smirked, slapping two cards into play. The first went onto her monster zone, and the second into her magic/trap slot. "I sacrifice Brunhilde to summon Valkyrie Altest(1600/1600) and use Maiden of Swan to summon Valkyrie Sovite(1600/1600)!" Two more armored women appeared, both riding armored horses. They slashed with their swords, and suddenly the Dark Magician was destroyed.  
  
"When Valkyrie Sovite is summoned I can destroy any monster on the field, so I trashed Dark Magician. Now I'll use Altest's effect. When she attacks I can remove one monster in my opponent's cemetery from the game to set her attack power at that level. I'll use Halt Play to prevent your So both will attack the Pharaoh, me removing Dark Magician for Altest!" The two valkyrie's slashed across Yami's chest, knocking him backwards and dealing a significant amount of damage. However it wasn't over yet.   
  
"Now I will attack directly with Chaos Soldier!" The mighty blader cut across the Pharaoh's chest, smashing him into the ground and nearly finishing him off. However both he, Kai, and everyone else there was well aware that she could have easily removed Valkyrion to finish Atem off. She was toying with them, and that was hardly a good thing. (ALP: 900)  
  
Atem started his turn in the usual manner, drawing a card and looking to see what it was. Unfortunately he couldn't do anything at the moment, he could only hope his set card could hold Ihachi off when the time came. "I pass my turn."  
  
Kai glanced at his newest card and again considered if he should discard a card, but he wanted to save for something big, so for the moment it wasn't the right idea. He could perhaps just defend, he had no other method to use at the moment. "I set a monster in defense mode. End turn."   
  
The attractive false goddess added another card to her hand, and then daintily used the card she had drawn. She placed it on her disk and picked up her Sovite as she did so. "I sacrifice Valkyrie Sovite for...another Valkyrie Sovite! And I use its effect to destroy Kai's set monster." The first Sovite was replaced with an identical monster, and to Kai's horror it slashed apart his set monster with ease. Since it wasn't an attack the effect of his Cyber Jar didn't activate.   
  
"Now I've had enough of playing with you two, so I'll finish you both off with an attack from my two Valkryie's, not even using Altest's effect!" Both valkryies rode down, swords held at the ready. They made a downwards cut with their blades at the exact same moment, and at the exact same moment Kai and Atem both shouted the same words.  
  
"Activate trap, Waboku!" Waboku's defensive power reduced the battle damage to zero, saving them from the attacks that she directed their way. It would only work for one turn, so they just had to hope that they could recover in short order. If they couldn't then things would shortly end very badly for them.   
  
Atem drew a card and glanced at it. He sighed, understanding the truth. He knew that all things were necessary, so in this moment he would have to take a necessary risk. With the power of his card he could perhaps turn the duel, or at least buy them a short advantage that would transfer over to whoever took over after they were defeated. And at this moment he was certain they would be.   
  
"I use Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy Curse of War. With that out of the way I'll activate my deck master effect once again, summon the Buster Blader(2600/2300) to the field! My blader will destroy Valkyrie Sovite!" The blader rushed forwards and swung down with his massive sword, cleaving the valkryie's head from her shoulders with practiced ease. That single attack ripped a chunk out of Ihaci's life points, and she didn't look happy about it. (ILP: 6300)  
  
Kai continued the trend, he knew he had to. He could practically feel the things his partner was thinking. If they couldn't defeat Ihachi, they could at least clear a path for whoever came next. He had exactly the method of doing that, and he was about to make it show. "I discard both of my cards to destroy Chaos Soldier and Altest!"  
  
A double blaze of cannon fire ripped the two monsters into smithereens, clearing a path directly towards Ihachi's life points. Her field was now totally cleared, and they had the only monster, only card in play. The powerful Buster Blader gave them the advantage for the moment, but there was no telling what she would do next.  
  
Ihachi drew a card, her smile once again returning. She started laughing, laughing as hard and as long as she felt necessary. In the background they could see the servants flinch. They recognized the laugh as something that usually meant pain for them, and that couldn't be good for the two duelists. "Well, its been fun so far, but you've both barely managed to stand up to my valkryies. Goddess of Wicked Destruction was nearly too much for you, and my next goddess is even greater!"  
  
She placed the card onto the field, and they watched in awe as a gorgeous blonde haired woman appeared, a green glow shining from her body. She was clad in light white robes, essentially just a fancy toga. She also wore a tiara and had eyes that looked like swirling galaxies. "This is the Goddess of Mentality(1000/1000), and since I summon her I'll discard a card to take control of one monster on the field. Come to me, Buster Blader!"  
  
The goddess crooked her finger, and a dazed blader staggered over to her, turning around to face Kai and Atem. Both of them gulped in air greedily, knowing that this might be their last moment. In this next attack, the two of them would be defeated, there was no way around that. "Luckily for you two, Goddess of Mentality can't attack whenever she's controlling a monster. So it'll be only one of you who loses now. But who shall it be...."  
  
She tilted her head to the side and tapped a finger against her lips thoughtfully, the goddess in front of her mimicking the pose. Buster Blader just stared dazedly ahead, unable to take any action without previous command. Suddenly Ihachi snapped her fingers, obviously coming to a decision.  
  
"I've got it. The strongest should be the one to go first. So Atem, do me a favor and say hello to the other gods and goddesses, because shortly you'll be meeting them. I on the other hand will live forever, the one true Goddess of this place. Give my regards to oblivion!"   
  
Buster Blader lunged and struck with his blade, ending the life of the powerful duelist who had long been known as King of Games. Ihachi had struck him down, struck him down with laughter on her lips, joy in her heart, and evil in her eyes.   
  
Mou Hitori No Yugi, the Other Yugi, Atem the Pharaoh of Egypt, joined the ranks of the dead, joined the ranks of all the other long forgotten Pharaohs. There was no more Yugi, no more Atem, and with his passing it seemed that in the hearts of the other duelists, there was no more hope.   
  
Ihachi just kept laughing.  
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX

Author's Notes: Wow, another chapter done and up and posted. Amazing what a person can do when he puts his mind to it isn't it?  
  
Original Cards  
  
Ihachi: Goddess of Wicked Destruction, Black Matter Chaos, Blind Attack, Halt Play, Curse of War, Goddess of Mentality, Shot From the Dark  
  
Anime Original Cards: Apple of Freyja(KC Grand Prix), Rogue Flame(KC Grand Prix), Valkyrie Brunhilde(KC Grand Prix), Valkyrie Sovite(KC), Valkyrie Altest(KC), Maiden of Swan(KC) 


	34. The Invincible Goddess

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh!  
  
Author's Notes: Lets get started right from the kicker, here comes the second part of the duel against Ihachi. Who will replace Atem? Can they possibly win against her devastating Goddesses? Is Ihachi invincible? Find out now....probably.  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "Evil will always triumph, because Good is dumb." -Dark Helmet, Spaceballs  
  
Advert of the Chapter: Today I'm advertising the Hive of Darkness Trilogy by The Helldragon. I already advertised Fanfiction for Dummies, and he requested an advert for Web of the Mantis, his current piece, the second in the trilogy, the first being Insect Queen. This story is unusually dark for The Helldragon, but as he is the HELLdragon, I suppose it makes sense. I won't give too much away, but suffice it to say that this story will have you at the edge of your seat. Its got sword battles, duels(or at least one), pissing contests(not literally), insult matches(common in any fic with Joey and Kaiba in it), and it has the most irritating and annoying bastard you could ever meet in it. No, I'm not talking about Weevil(though he's there too), I'm talking about Matt Willard, the Helldragon's original character who totally changes the angle of any story he's in. Matt might just be the most scathingly sarcastic and bloody annoying person ever to exist in writing, and I give props to The Helldragon for creating him. Read this story and cringe in horror, groan in delight(or agony, you pick), and shake your head numerous times at the idiocy of Matt Willard and occassionally others. ROCK THE CASBA!  
  
Chapter Thirty-Three: The Invincible Goddess  
  
"Oh bloody hell. The idiot Pharaoh dies and everybody starts being all weepy and going 'oh gods there's no chance for victory!' How fucking pathetic!" Several sets of eyes turned to look at the speaker, even though they knew who it was after the first words out of his mouth. They sighed, having expected something like this from him.  
  
Yami Bakura, or simply Bakura, stood with his arms folded across his chest in smug satisfaction. The Pharaoh finished off? How perfect. He'd just step in and take the Pharaoh's place and show them all what he could do, once he had won it'd be the perfect revenge for the time the Pharaoh had beaten him. "I'll replace that idiot in this duel."  
  
He stepped up and placed his duel disk on his arm, activating it and simply drew a card, starting off where Atem would have had he still been with them. Of course now it was his deck, and he had full life points. Unfortunately it also meant his first card was his only card, his hand was empty other then that. (BLP: 8000)  
  
"I'll set one card face down and end my turn. Go ahead and make your move Kai, and don't hold me back. Use that nifty little deck master of yours to get rid of her goddess. So she can't take any of our other monsters." With that said he ended his turn, receiving a death glare from Kai.  
  
Kai knew perfectly well he should get rid of Goddess of Mentality, but he should also get rid of Buster Blader. If Bakura didn't want the blader being destroyed he either assumed that once the goddess was gone it'd move under his control, or he had a trap that was best for the blader. "I discard a card to destroy Goddess of Mentality!"  
  
The fearful look on the goddess' face as the energy rushed towards her was enough to force her spellbound slave into action. To Kai and Bakura's shock the mind controlled Buster Blader hurled himself in the way of the energy blasts, ending up with himself shattered into tiny little pieces. There was now no more Buster Blader. "Fools. She's a goddess with a willing servant. Any true servant of a goddess will give his or her life to protect the goddess, so Buster Blader sacrificed his life to protect Goddess of Mentality."  
  
With no other cards left to play Kai finished off his turn, casting a glance a the ever confident Bakura. He just had to hope that the white haired thief had a plan in mind, because otherwise they were totally defenseless. He was at least, and he wasn't certain whether Bakura would willingly protect him from any attack.  
  
Ihachi drew another card and then clapped gleefully, undoing yet another lace, making it even easier to see what she had to offer. By now Kai was absolutely certain she was do it on purpose, and since Bakura was leering at her it seemed to be working quite well. "I summon Valkyrie Dritt(1000/1600) who gains one hundred points for each monster removed from the game."   
  
The smaller valkyrie was summoned, riding a dapple gray horse with minimal armor. Dritt got a sudden boost of four hundred points, bumping her up to fourteen hundred attack strength. It wasn't much, but since neither of them had much to help out, it was enough. "I attack with Valkyrie Dritt!"  
  
It charged in, sword at the ready, and easily ran right into Bakura's trap. "I reveal Appetite for Destruction. This destroys your attacking monster and revives it under my own control." Dritt shattered into pieces, and then reformed facing Ihachi. But despite Bakura's grin of success, it appeared that Ihachi found something about the situation funny.  
  
She waggled the card in her hand, and then casually slid it into her cemetery. "Don't be silly. Goddess of Mentality lets me command your monster when summoned by discarding a card. Pity she's limited in other ways. But oh well, she still attacks you directly." The blade caught Bakura across the shoulder and he grimaced as a red brand of flame cut through his nerve endings. He nearly lost control of the arm, but he held it in using sheering will power. (BLP: 6600)  
  
Once again it was Bakura's turn to draw, and he did so gladly. As soon as he saw the card he had drawn he started to laugh, turning from a chuckle to a full belly laugh very quickly. "This card has a certain sense of irony considering I'm the one using it. But it matters not, for I play Card of Sanctity!" Each of the three of them drew their six cards, looking over their hands for potential uses.   
  
Bakura grinned as he selected the cards he wanted to use. The Pharaoh had been first in this duel to use a fusion, but he would soon be the second. His fusion was not quite as strong, but its effect was highly useful. "I set two cards face down, and activate Polymerization to fuse Ghost Duke and Headless Knight into Ghost Baron(2000/1700)!"   
  
A nasty looking elitist zombie now stood before him, a nearly invincible zombie in fact. He grinned, as he had realized one of the flaws of Goddess of Mentality. It could only control one monster at a time, and now it was controlling Dritt. "You've focused your attentions on commanding your Valkyrie, leaving your goddess vulnerable by an attack from my Ghost Baron!"  
  
Ihachi let out a laugh and discarded a card from her hand, shocking Bakura. Ghost Baron slid over to her side of the field, as dazed and confused as Dritt and Buster Blader had been. That slid his attention to Dritt, who no longer had a dazed looked on. "I released my control over Dritt already, and since she was originally my monster anyways she just stayed with me. So thank you for the monster, it was thoughtful of you."   
  
Bakura scowled and gestured rudely to Kai, showing that he had nothing more he could do this turn. Kai added another card to his hand, giving him seven, and looked over what he had. With these cards he could quickly get rid of Goddess of Mentality. "I discard two cards to destroy Goddess of Mentality. The first will obviously be taken by the baron, but after that she'll be dead!"  
  
Bakura groaned, unable to stop his partner from making a big mistake. The cannons of the XYZ monster blazed, colliding with Ghost Baron once, and then twice. Both times nothing happened. Snarling, Bakura turned to his partner. "Idiot! Ghost Baron can't be destroyed in any way!" Kai groaned, and then decided on his next course to take.  
  
He slipped the Pot of Greed card into his duel disk, activating it. Once he had his two new cards he quickly chose the card he was going to part with, and shoved it into the cemetery. "This time I'm not going after the goddess, I"ll destroy Valkyrie Dritt!" The barrels of his deck master all unleashed their devastating fire upon the valkryie, destroying her easily.   
  
"Now I set three cards face down and summon Blade Knight(2000/1200) who has gained four hundred attack points since I've only got one card in my hand. Blade Knight will attack Goddess of Mentality!" He had to hope he was right, it was the only way. Blade Knight got close, he really did, but Ghost Baron slid in the way and slashed him across the ribs with its rapier. Blade Knight collapsed in a heap, and to Kai's surprise it didn't go over to Ihachi's side of the field. She wasn't using her deck master anymore, just like she had said.  
  
He had hoped that Goddess of Mentality wouldn't be defended from an attack, but apparently it was. It had been a foolish hope, but he had felt it was necessary to test it out. It hadn't ended well, but he could defend himself, so it wasn't a huge problem. "End turn."  
  
Ihachi looked over her hand and smiled faintly before selecting the cards she wanted to use. To his surprise he saw her life points deplete. "I pay the five hundred life points to maintain Ghost Baron as per its effect." So that was the price for having an invincible monster, an upkeep cost. Oh well, it was pretty meager. (ILP: 5800)  
  
"I set two cards face down and sacrifice Ghost Baron for Valkyrie Sigdrifa(2300/2300) who for this turn gains half the attack points of the monster I sacrificed, boosting her to 3300. Sigdrifa will attack Bakura directly!" The heavily armored valkyrie rode across the field, slicing at Bakura with her blade. He was not defenseless however.  
  
"I activate Ghost Shield, removing Ghost Duke from my graveyard to negate the attack." The attack pulsated against the shield but was unable to get through, allowing Bakura to survive the attack. Ihachi shrugged her shoulders and waved it off, passing the turn over to Bakura who gladly drew a card.  
  
Unable to do much else the thief slammed a monster onto his field. It appeared in defense mode, and then he motioned for Kai to start his own turn. He had gotten lucky, he had guessed right. Goddess of Mentality couldn't take control of a monster that wasn't face up, so his set monster was safe.  
  
Kai grinned as soon as he saw exactly what had happened. With that being the case, Goddess of Mentality had no monster under its control at all, leaving it perfectly defenseless. He had three cards to protect himself, so it was time to clear away the threat of Ihachi's monsters. "I discard my hand of two cards to destroy both of your monsters!"  
  
Twin blasts of power exploded from his deck master. Each blast collided with a different monster, and the two creatures were burned away, almost as if they had never been there at all. With that out of the way he was certain that there was nothing Ihachi could do now. Her two face down cards would go as soon as he got another turn. "End!"  
  
Ihachi casually drew a card and then placed it on the field, adding a third card to her array of face down cards. She now had equally as many placed cards as Kai did, making it a hard guess to know who had better cards. Perhaps soon they would find out, but for the moment they had to wait. "I too will end my turn, sending it back to the ugly little thief."  
  
Bakura snarled wordlessly and plucked another card free. He viciously slammed it onto his duel disk, picking up and tossing aside his set monster into his graveyard. "I summon Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600)!" The blue skinned hellish ruler was summoned, a far cry from anything else that had been played during this entire duel. Its power would not go amiss, and if it succeeded in a direct attack it would be fantastic.  
  
"Dark Ruler Hades, attack directly!" The hellion launched a streak of blue flame at the supposedly defenseless Ihachi, but she was ready, and she activated two of her placed cards, one a simple card that was easily recognizable, the other neither recognized. It had an image of a woman with a halo floating down from a cloud.  
  
"I activate Solemn Wishes and Call of the Goddess! I'm sure you know what Solemn Wishes does, so I'll just explain the other. Call of the Goddess allows me to special summon a monster with 'goddess' in its name. So I will bring out a more powerful one, Goddess of Reflection(700/700)!" The newest goddess was gorgeous, and definitely nude. However she lounged behind a giant fancy mirror, making it impossible to see anything at all.   
  
The blue flame bounced right off of the mirror and started streaking past Dark Ruler Hades and towards Bakura. The attack had been reflected! Kai took that moment to use his own trap, perfect for such a moment. "I activate Magic Cylinder!" The blue flame entered and shot out again, right back at Ihachi.   
  
"I activate Trap Discplacement!" Again the attack shifted directions, headed back towards Bakura. Kai was highly reminded of his double duel against the Union Riders where he, Drake, and the Union Riders had done this sort of thing more then once. In fact, Magic Cylinder had been involved. Finally the attack collided with Bakura, dealing heavy damage to him and nearly burning his shirt off. (BLP: 4150)  
  
Kai added another card to his hand, but instead of discarding he knew exactly what he could do. "I summon Z-Metal Tank(1500/1600)!" The purplish tank appeared, the duplicate of the bottom portion of XYZ Dragon Cannon. Its attack wasn't all that impressive, and with Goddess of Reflection on the field it would do him worse to use it, but that wasn't what he had in mind.  
  
"Reveal Matching Destruction! And since Goddess of Reflection is of a lower level, your Goddess is toast!" A rumble built up as flames surrounded the goddess, but suddenly those flames were sucked into the mirror and shot out, searing through the air to collide with Dark Ruler Hades and destroy it instead of the goddess.  
  
Ihachi made a tutting sound and shook her finger at him, chuckling as she did so. "She's not just called the Goddess of Reflection because she can reflect attacks. By discarding a card from my hand I can reflect effects as well, so Hades is the one who gets burnt instead of my goddess." She let out another peal of laughter, and Kai could only end his turn, ignoring Bakura's curses at him.  
  
She drew another card and then played it onto the field, her life points also took an upwards climb thanks to the effect of Solem Wishes. Next she selected another of her cards and activated it. "I play Treasure of Nibelung. Not only does this let me draw five cards, but it also equips Nibelung Ring onto Z-Metal Tank!" A giant ring circled Kai's tank, and Ihachi got to pump her hand up to seven cards, granting her yet another dose of life points. (ILP: 6800)  
  
"I play Mystical Space Tyhpoon on Ghost Shield, and then Goddess of Guardian Kaeyest to reuse Mystical Space Typhoon on Kai's face down card." Twin bolts of lightning lanced out, spearing through their cards. The shield was pricked like a bubble, and Kai lost one of his better traps, never getting a chance to use it.   
  
"Now I set one card and summon Valkyrie Hildr(1900/1700). I attack Bakura with it and my Goddess!" The two monsters charged forwards, heedless of any obstruction. Kai tried to order Z-Metal Tank to block the goddess and thereby destroy it, but his tank wouldn't respond to his command. The attacks collided, bowling Bakura over. (BLP: 1550)  
  
"That was dumb Kai. You see, the monster equipped with Nibelung Ring no longer responds to your commands. And while its equipped you draw two cards in the standby phase. If you get a monster you've got to discard it, but if you get two monsters you get to choose which monster is discarded. Isn't that just fun?" She smirked evilly and declared the end of her turn, showing just how much worse things could get. They were in trouble, that was for certain.  
  
Bakura started off his turn, drawing his card. At this moment Ihachi's focus was all on her opponents, leaving the way clear for the others to take action. Dalin was going to do something that he felt was necessary, something that might advance their position. It was the right thing to do.  
  
He slowly moved towards the throne, moving quietly and carefully so he didn't attract Ihachi's attention. Despite his power, in this place or even in the normal world he wouldn't be able to match her. Her normal strength was what Drake had displayed when using Obelisk for the first time, and he hadn't stood a chance. Here in her own realm her power was infinitely greater.  
  
His gaze slid up to the figures chained to the columns, wishing he could do something to help them. Unfortunately he felt no souls there, what he saw were merely shells, false images that were there to amuse Ihachi and impress anyone who entered her temple.   
  
His target was not those chained above, but rather the one who was chained below. His feet took him casually up the steps towards the altar, striding over to the crouching Kirani. She looked up at him with fear in her eyes, the look of one who has experienced a great deal of pain in a short amount of time. "Shh....I'm going to help free you."  
  
She blinked, slowly coming to recognize him. Her eyes widened and she responded in a hush, her voice still plainly showing her shock at seeing him. "Dalin? Then Drake is...." She let it lie there, because he was already shaking his head. He didn't want to tell her that Drake wasn't with them, but it was what had to be done.  
  
"He did what he could to rescue you. He even defeated Taichi, but then we were all sent here. He lost in a duel in a strange manner, and I'm certain I now know what he had intended when doing so. He needed to learn something, and I just hope he managed to find what he was looking for." She nodded, her eyes once again downcast as he weaved minor flows of magic instinctively into the chains that bound her.   
  
The magic sealing the chains was complex, but luckily for him Ihachi hadn't considered that anyone might actually get close enough to examine it. He could unlock it and free Kirani, but it would take a little bit more time since he couldn't use full strength. She hadn't used her full power to seal it, so he'd be capable of breaking it, lucky for him and lucky for her.  
  
"Ihachi....she's dueling?" Dalin nodded again, and as he worked he was aware of the eyes staring over his shoulder, staring at the duel that was continuing as he worked. He didn't need to watch the duel at the moment, he could simply trust that the two duelists were doing what they could to defeat Ihachi, despite worsening conditions.  
  
Bakura grinned wickedly as he viewed his card, knowing that he had a method to use to win this duel. His face down card and the card he had drawn were all that he needed, and with it he would achieve victory! "I activate my set trap card, Destiny Board! At the end of each of your turns it will add a letter, and when it finishes spelling out the needed word then you'll be finished!" The fiery blue D burned above his head as the looking glass moved over the letter.   
  
"But that's not all! I'll activate the magic card Summoning of D-E-A-T-H! For every five hundred life points I pay, I can put a letter of the Destiny Board into my hand. Of course I shall pay fifteen hundred life points, giving me three cards with which to bring you to your end!" His deck ejected the necessary cards as the power of his magic card drained most of his life points away, leaving him with a spare amount that wouldn't prevent him from being defeated. (BLP: 50)  
  
"Though Destiny Board pulls the letters into play at the end of your turns, I can use the letters in my turn if I hold them. So I play Spirit Message E, Spirit Message A, and Spirit Message T!" The glass moved steadily over the Ouija board, spelling out the necessary letters. The corresponding fiery letters appeared above him, giving him a full four letters of the message. At the end of Ihachi's turn, she would lose!  
  
"So the message is Death? Oh dear, how dreadful. I suppose I'll just have to kill you before the end of my next turn shan't I?" She smiled brightly, sending shivers down Bakura's spine. It made no sense for her to be so confident despite the position. Then again, she must think that he couldn't defend himself without using up a needed space.   
  
"Think I'm defenseless prey? Hardly. I use the magic card Defense Seal, which will keep me from being attacked directly for three turns! I don't need those three turns, as one is all I need to end you once and for all! MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHA!" A glowing green barrier sprung up around him, a barrier that would protect him from any direct attacks. He was no safe, and there was no way for Ihachi to win, because as soon as her next turn ended, the Spirit Message H would be played from his deck, finishing her off.  
  
Kai started off his turn, drawing two cards due to the effect of Nibelung Ring. He looked at his cards, grimacing at the sight of a Polymerization and a Mirage Magician. Because he had drawn a monster he was going to have to discard it, and Polymerization was of no use to him. "I discard a monster into the cemetery."  
  
He started to go to discard his fusion card in order to destroy one of Ihachi's cards, but realized quickly that if he did that, Ihachi would just discard a card and reflect the destruction at Destiny Board, unraveling Bakura's strategy. He would just have to leave this duel to Bakura to win, at least for the moment. "That will end my turn."  
  
Meanwhile Dalin was still busy with his work of undoing the chains that wrapped around Kirani's leg. He was still intent on doing this, even though he had heard Bakura's strategy. It was certainly effective, and perhaps it would work, but there was no room for maybe in this sort of game, so he'd have to have a back up plan.  
  
Dalin himself was a back-up, he knew that he had the potential to defeat Ihachi, in fact he knew for certain that he could defeat her. He could do it on his own even, however stepping up after one was defeated in this sort of duel, starting with only a single card or perhaps none was foolish. There was more then that though.....he had a strange feeling deep in his gut that told him Ihachi was not his enemy to defeat.  
  
Ihachi drew free another card, reactivating the effect of Solemn Wishes. A blue glow surrounded her, and she basked in its warmth, soaking up the healing waves of energy that came from her permanent trap card. As long as she had it, she'd forever be gaining life points. Of course if she didn't defeat Bakura in this turn, then it wouldn't matter at all. (ILP: 7300)  
  
She glanced down at her card and sighed, knowing that what she had drawn was not going to help defeat Bakura. She couldn't attack him directly with her monsters, so he was unbeatable in that manner for three turns. She had to beat him here and now....and she had a method to do so.  
  
"You know, you two were amusing for a while, but now I'm just bored with you both. It's a pity, but right about now I'm going to have to end your time in this duel." She sighed as if reluctant to perform whatever move she was going to make. Kai and Bakura glanced at each other, both now uncertain about what was going to happen. They watched her as she picked one of her cards and used it.  
  
"I'll finish you both off with this single card. It's known as Chaos Cannon. It's a nifty little magic card that deals two hundred damage to my opponent for each monster removed from the game. Funnily enough that happens to be four monsters, so that'll give me a total of eight hundred damage to spread. How many life points do you both have total again?" The two duelists gulped, realizing that their efforts were about to come crashing down.  
  
Kai stood currently at seven hundred life points, making him an easy target. Bakura only had fifty life points thanks to the use of his Summoning D-E-A-T-H card that he had used in his previous turn. Total they only had seven hundred and fifty life points, fifty two points less then what would be needed for the two of them to survive this next strike.  
  
"Oh that's right, you've got fifty less then the damage I can do. So I guess I'll finish you both off right now. Go and join the Pharaoh in whatever lands of the dead he roams, and know that your corpses will adorn my temple just as all these others do. Suffer and die!" With that she activated her magic card, and the cannon appeared in front of them.  
  
It was dead black. It was not the kind of black that people normally think of when they say the word black. It was instead the essences of blackness, absorbing in all the light around it, bending light so that it was not touched. The air shimmered and a dangerous hum could be heard as they wicked looking dead black cannon powered up. "Chaos Cannon, FIRE!"  
  
They could have said that the attacks the cannon fired were dead black. They could also have said that they were like streams of negative energy. They could have said plenty of things except there was one problem. The air rippled, it burned and seethed, agony erupted in their bodies as the attacks collided with them. The attacks were not visible, they were energy in its purest state. (KLP: 0, BLP: 0)  
  
There was a click, there was motion, and then there was a strong and clear feminine voice ringing out. "I'll take you on Ihachi, I will be your next opponent!" Ihachi's gaze turned up, and she found herself looking into the once more confident eyes of Kirani, who flashed a determined smile before leaping down the steps, a duel disk attached to her arm. It was the duel disk that belonged to Kirani's spirit form, Ihachi had set it aside. (KLP: 8000)  
  
Another clear feminine voice picked up the call, and Ihachi's gaze once again turned, now coming to rest on the speaker, the brunette slim figure that was Serenity Wheeler. "I'll join her on the dueling field, and I'll make you pay for the things that you've done. Now let's duel!" Serenity's duel disk activated, and now there were two more opponents for Ihachi to face. It was now girl on girl action, only in a different way then most people think when hearing those words. It was a girl on girl duel action. (SLP: 8000)  
  
Since Serenity now stood where Bakura had stood it was clear that she taking his place. Also, since he hadn't had any cards in hand when he was defeated she would have to count on drawing a card to get her something good. So she drew confidently, knowing that her brother and Drake were both with her in spirit, guiding her hand with theirs. "I've drawn Nia the Magical Swordswoman(1300/1400) who now gains eight hundred attack points!"  
  
The blonde haired woman brushed her hair out of her eyes, and then smiling she turned and made a whistling sound. Serenity's deck started glowing and she grabbed the card that shot out, slapping it down onto one of her monster zones as quickly as she could. "Since she's been summoned I special summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000)!" The armored blonde haired man joined his female counterpart, and that was all that Serenity could do for her turn.  
  
Due to the effect of Nibelung Ring, which was still Kirani's as she was taking over for Kai, she had to draw two cards. She drew the two cards, and then casually shoved one of them into her cemetery slot. As soon as it was in she started grinning, and twisted her other card around to face Ihachi. "Monster Reborn."  
  
A blaze of light erupted from the ground, a sphere of light that ascended and hovered in front of her. Slowly it dissipated, revealing a muscular man in bluish armor with a mighty sword on his back. He drew the blade and slashed it through the air, making streaks of lightning strike out from it. "Gilford the Lightning(2800/1400) rises to the field!"  
  
She knew the effect of Goddess of Reflection just as well as the others did, and like Serenity before her she knew that despite having a superior monster on the field she couldn't afford to attack, because it would just end up hurting her. "That's all for me."  
  
Ihachi smiled slightly as she viewed the card she had drawn. Either that or she was just smiling because of the blue healing light that was covering her, restoring her life points to nearly the starting point. One more draw and she'd have more life points then she had started with. (ILP: 7800)  
  
"I sacrifice Hildr and Goddess of Reflection to summon another Brunhilde! I'll attack Neo with her!" Brunhilde charged across the field, shield at the ready. However at the last moment Kirani threw her Gilford in the way, intent on having Brunhilde run into it. With Gilford's greater power it would easily stop the attack and heavily damage Ihachi.   
  
"Not so fast. I activate Dark Vortex, making your Gilford an untouchable for a few turns. It can't attack or defend at all, I can even attack through it!" Kirani and Serenity grimaced as Gilford turned transparent, allowing Brunhilde's blade to pass straight through and gut Neo, cutting it down and dealing damage to Serenity. Damage that didn't quite make sense to Serenity...it must just deal extra damage when it destroyed a monster. (SLP: 7600)  
  
Now it was Serenity's turn again. She drew a card and then glanced at her field. She still had the Destiny Board and three of its letters, but that was a problem. She had no pieces of the message in her deck, so it didn't help at all. They were taking up space, and now she'd just have to fill up the last spot. "I set one card face down."  
  
She raised one arm, leather jacket flaring out behind her, and declared her attack, ready to use Nia to obliterate Brunhilde. Nia gathered mystic energies into her blade, making it glow green, and then slashed it through the air, sending razor sharp petals at Brunhilde. "I'll reveal my trap card, Wandering Flame! According to its effect, as long as its in play you can't attack with monsters whose attack is greater then two thousand!"  
  
The petals were absorbed by the flame, and the attack remained uncompleted. Now, with nothing else left for her in this turn, it was time for her to finish up and give Kirani a chance to come up with something. She just had to hope it was good. "I can't do anything else so I end my turn now."  
  
Kirani added another two cards to her hand, and casually discarded one of her two cards. She had drawn two monsters, meaning she got the choice of what to discard. Of course, because she had discarded she had more options actually. "I...what the heck?" Her sudden surprise was directed at her Gilford, who though he was slightly more visible, was now losing muscle mass and becoming weaker.   
  
Ihachi threw back her head and laughed, explaining it as soon as she was able. "The effect of Dark Vortex will end after your second standby phase, but during each of your turns otherwise it loses two hundred points. So by the time it can attack it will be four hundred points weaker." She chuckled further, her happiness evident as Gilford became a slightly weaker monster of twenty-six hundred points.  
  
"Either way it doesn't matter Ihachi, because I'm getting rid of the Nibelung Ring right here and now! I tribute Z Metal Tank for Kaiser Glider(2400/2200)!" The purplish tank was replaced by a mighty golden dragon, whose appearance just made Ihachi smile even more then before. Kirani didn't know what she was grinning about, but it didn't matter. She now had two strong monsters and no debilitating equip card on one of her monsters.   
  
Ihachi drew another card, yet again gaining life points from Solem Wishes. She could only grin and laugh as she selected a single card from her hand to use and placed on the field. It appeared in brown-backed form, giving her more to go on. "I just set that single card before ending my turn." (ILP: 8300)  
  
Serenity drew a card, and suddenly a bright smile blossomed on her features. Now was a moment where she could make things better for them! She had drawn the perfect card for the situation, a monster that was less then two thousand points and yet still stronger then Brunhilde! "I summon Sapphire Dragon(1900/1600)!"  
  
The beautiful blue dragon appeared on the field, letting out a roar before lowering its head. Serenity reached out and stroked its head, laughing with delight as it practically purred under her touch. "You beautiful creature....I want you to attack and destroy Brunhilde over there, okay?" The dragon gave her a nod and rose up to its full height, wings extended for flight.  
  
It hurled itself across the field, intent on rending the valkyrie with its claws and teeth to please its master. This little woman that was its enemy was no match for its might, or so it thought. Brunhilde reached out and grabbed hold of Sapphire Dragon's wings, and then crushed them together. A quick stroke of the sword and the dragon fell dead to the ground, vanishing moments later. (SLP: 6800)  
  
"Confused are we? I suppose now is the moment to explain that for each warrior and dragon on the field my Brunhilde gains three hundred attack points. So you attacked a monster of twenty-seven hundred points with a weak nineteen hundred attack power monster. Kinda stupid huh?" Again she threw back her head and laughed, and unlike some previous times she lost no laces in the process. Apparently teasing the girls was a different manner entirely. That wasn't to say it wasn't fun, but it was different.  
  
Serenity quailed inside, knowing that if this had been a duel with Drake he would be berating her right now with one of his various lessons. It was something he had taught her, and yet she had forgotten. He had told her 'Never assume the effect of a card. Make sure you know exactly what the effect is before acting, otherwise you're bound to make a serious mistake.' Here she was and already she had made such a mistake!  
  
Despite this mistake she had to go on, she knew that Drake wouldn't give up if he made a mistake, and neither would her brother. They would keep fighting until they found a way to win. That was the power she had to find within herself, that was the power she needed if she was going to defeat Ihachi. "End turn!"  
  
Kirani started quickly, recognizing her card easily. With this card she could turn the tides, but she wasn't sure just how well it would work. She could clear the field for Serenity, but she couldn't necessarily save herself. She just had to hope things would work out, after all, she had plenty of life points to work with.  
  
"I play Remove Trap on Wandering Flame, getting it out of here!" The effect of her magic card let her destroy a trap card on the field, or turn up a card that was face down and destroy it if it was a trap. Its effect went into action, blasting the Wandering Flame trap card into oblivion, allowing each of her monsters to attack once again.  
  
"Because you destroyed Wandering Flame I can now summon a deadly monster, the twin to Brunhilde. I summon Valkyrie Fridwulfa(1800/2000), and she gains more attack points!" The new monster was wearing silver armor which matched the flowing silver hair that reached her back. Her massive blade was easily powerful enough to remove a man's head from his shoulders in a single swing.  
  
"It doesn't matter. My intent wasn't victory anyways, not in this turn at least. I'll settle on trashing Fridwulfa!" Gilford slashed straight through the shield, blasting it into little pieces as Fridwulfa's defense was reduced down to zero. The effect of Fridwulfa granted it attack points for each spellcaster of angel that was on the field or in the cemetery, giving it twenty-four hundred attack points total.  
  
"Now I attack it again with Kaiser Glider!" Her dragon rushed fowards, only to be slashed down and destroyed. However because of the effect of her monster, when it was destroyed she could remove one monster from the game that was on the field other then the one that destroyed it. So she gladly removed Brunhilde from the game. (KLP: 7800)  
  
Satisfied with her work she brushed her hands off and gave a thumbs up to Serenity, who grinned in return. Dalin on the other hand was not exactly thrilled. It wasn't the best strategy, but had it come to the next turn Ihachi would have had more monsters if she had taken a different route. "I'll leave it at that, and give you the turn Ihachi. Let's see what you can do with it."  
  
Ihachi burst out laughing, even before she drew a card. It was like she knew the horror that she was about to unleash, which was true because she did in fact know the kind of horror she was about to unleash. "Prepare yourself to witness the true power of my valkyries. I use the magic card, Walkuren Ritt!" (ILP: 8800)  
  
A storm of roses swirled around as the card's effect started, and Ihachi grabbed three cards from her hand and slapped them onto the field, watching with contentment as each monster appeared on the field. "The effect of Walkuren Ritt lets me special summon all the valkryies in my hand. When they destroy monsters this turn, those monsters are removed from the game. At the end of my turn my valkryies will be shuffled into my deck, but that doesn't matter at all!"  
  
Three very familiar valkyries appeared, followed by a valkyrie with green hair and black armor wielding a short sword and a simple shield. Her stats were identical with the other two's stats, making things far more even. "I've summon two Valkryie Altests, Fridwulfa, and one Valkyrie Shaun(1600/1600)! When Shaun is summoned I can destroy one magic or trap on the field, and I destroy Serenity's face down card!" A blast of power ripped Serenity's card away, and things seemed less even.  
  
"Fridwulfa will destroy Nia!" The two blade wielding woman started exchanging sword play, but it was quickly revealed that things were not even. The magic using sword wielder was very good, however she was no match in blade work for the heavenly woman, and a tricky maneuver was enough to throw her off guard and get her killed. (SLP: 6500)  
  
"My first Altest will remove Gilford from the grave and attack Kirani directly!" The first Altest's power shot up, giving it a superior edge over the other monsters. It rushed forwards and cut Kirani's shoulder swiftly, making her cringe in pain and grab her shoulder to stave off blood flow. It faded quickly, but it was still pretty bad. (KLP: 5000)  
  
"The second Altest will remove Kaiser Glider from the game and continue with a second direct attack!" Another identical monster attacked, cutting Kirani across the other shoulder. She gasped, sucking in air as a tidal wive of pain dropped upon her, and she fell to her knees, struggling to regain control of her body and her pain. (KLP: 2600)  
  
"Shaun will attack Serenity directly!" The simplistic Valkryie rushed across the field, stabbing lightly into Serenity's thigh. The auburn haired girl cried out, grabbing her leg as blood rushed out. It wasn't serious, but she had never been stabbed before, so it hurt more then she had possibly thought anything could hurt. (SLP: 4900)  
  
"Brunhilde will attack you again!" The valkryie with the winged armor rode down and stabbed her lightly in the other thigh, dropping her to the ground in even greater pain. Head held high Brunhilde stalked across the field, quite happy with herself for doing her bit in causing pain and anguish to the two of them. (SLP: 3100)  
  
"Now I activate Reginleif, allowing me to draw one card for each valkyrie I've got on the field! So I get to draw five more cards!" She added five new cards to her hand and examined them, suddenly she burst out laughing as her eyes lit upon one of the cards she had drawn. With this card she would finish them off, simple as that. It was simply too easy. These people were no challenge to her! (ILP: 9300)  
  
"I play Mischief of Goddesses Time! By getting rid of my next battle phase I can jump phases, giving my monsters a second battle phase! And I'll start off by having Fridwulfa attack Serenity!" The silver haired valkryie brought the flat of her blade down upon Serenity's shoulder, slamming her backwards into a column and making her let out a cry of pain as her bones fractured. (SLP: 700)  
  
"I remove Sapphire Dragon from the cemetery and attack Kirani directly with Altest the first!" The same Altest that had originally attacked her rode forwards once again, stirking her with the handle of the sword in the stomach, pounding the air right out of her. She folded up like a sheet and grabbed at her middle, gasping for air. (KLP: 1900)  
  
"Hmmm...I could easily defeat you both with one attack by one monster each. But which monster will I use, and which of you shall I crush first? What do you have to say?" The two girls were unable to say anything, they were both wrapped up in their pain. Dalin looked at the two of them, and then looked to Kevin. It was only the two of them remaining, so perhaps he had been wrong. This was an enemy he was supposed to face. It was a pity he hadn't realized that before. He had never wanted the girls to suffer.  
  
"You won't be crushing anyone. I had hoped to avoid this, but it seems like it was always inevitable. Your duel, your fight, is not with them. It's with me." Several pairs of eyes turned to stare at the entrance to the temple where a figure stood, light shining in from the outside, obscuring the image.  
  
Slowly the figure approached, walking out of the sunlight. When the figure was revealed, they couldn't help but be surprised, and Ihachi actually snarled in rage. Dalin could understand why, he knew exactly how she felt about this man, but he didn't know why. "Like the time long ago, the battle always rests between us siblings. Let us finish the battle we started more then three millennia ago!"  
  
Drake Ihachi stood at the doorway, duel disk at the ready, black leather jacket flaring out behind him. A radiant glow filled the air with its power as he drew on all the feelings of those in the room. The power that he radiated was greater then anything Dalin could have thought of, at least until he met Drake and Ihachi.  
  
Ihachi also radiated power, her body taking in desperate energies as she grew angrier with the moment. The energies stopped gathering and the two stood staring at each other, the air rippling and distorting around them from the sheer force of their power.   
  
The thing that was most notable, the thing that caught Dalin's attention and held it, making him understand that there was something deeper to this confrontation then he knew. That thing was that their magical signatures were nearly identical, and their power was completely and totally evenly matched. "The duel of the twin gods will now come to an end."  
  
(End)  
  
Author's Notes: Next time, watch and learn as the explosive confrontation between these two titans begins!   
  
Original Cards  
  
Ihachi: Valkyrie Fridwulfa, Valkyrie Shaun, Wandering Flame, Dark Vortex, Call of Goddess, Goddess of Reflection, Goddess of Guardian Kaeyest, Chaos Cannon  
  
Kai: Matching Destruction  
  
Bakura: Appetite for Destruction, Summoning D-E-A-T-H, Defense Seal  
  
Serenity: Nia the Magical Swordswoman  
  
Original Cards Not Belonging to Me  
  
Ihachi: Valkyrie Hildr(created by Time Mage), Reginleif(by Time Mage), Valkyrie Sigdrifa(by Time mage)  
  
Kai: Mirage Magician(only mentioned, but still by Time Mage  
  
Anime Original Cards: Valkyrie Dritt(KC Grand Prix), Ghost Baron(Egyptian Arc), Ghost Shield(Egypt), Trap Displacement(DK), Treasure of Nibelung(KC), Nibelung Ring(KC), Walkuren Ritt(KC), Valkyrie Brunhilde(KC), Valkyrie Altest(KC), Mischief of Goddesses Time(KC) 


	35. Citadel of Endless Light

Disclaimer: No ownage of Yugioh belonging to this guy who is writing who is me.  
  
Author's Note: Here it is, the amazing(hopefully) conclusion to the duel against Ihachi. Find out who lives, who dies, and who gets the clap in this exciting(again hopefully) chapter of What Was, What Is, and you get the picture.   
  
Quote of the Chapter: "Anyone who says 'Guns don't kill people' is either being metaphorical or has never been shot by one. Anyone who is being metaphorical about guns has never been shot by one. So there is one thing you can always know about anyone who says 'Guns don't kill people'. They're an idiot." -Me, from an argument about gun safety with a friend  
  
Advert of the Chapter: Today I'm advertising Zatken. No, that's not a story, she's an author on The reason I'm not giving a specific story is because she's got a string of about five or six stories, each one about seventeen chapters or so long all on the same track. Its good stuff, and original too. If you're looking for character development and plot, then this is great stuff. If you're just looking for crazy duels, then don't look here because she's only had about one duel per story so far that I've read. Check out her stories and laugh, cry(possibly unless you're too macho or it just doesn't touch you), and perhaps even spin your chair around and go 'wow, that's a lot of stories' then read and enjoy!  
  
Chapter Thirty-Four: Citadel of Endless Light  
  
What had happened in the past was the past. The people of today were not the same people that they had been in the long forgotten times of old. They knew nothing of who they had been, what they had done, and how it had all ended. But that changed nothing....  
  
No matter how much she tried to tell herself otherwise she couldn't help the feelings flowing through her at the sight of the tall teenager standing in the doorway. He had a new name, he had a different past, but despite these things something about him still screamed out to her, still gave her the same feeling as before.  
  
This boy...no he was a man, not a boy....was the spitting image of her brother, and she couldn't help but feel that in some way this man was her brother. Her relationship with her brother had been....unusual to say the least. The things that had transpired between them had cast a shadow across all of the lands of Egypt.   
  
This man was not Drago, no matter how much they looked and acted alike. Even the similarity in their names was mere coincidence, Drake only being a nickname. Yet these thoughts didn't help her in the slightest in throwing off the fear of the past. Because she could see it all, see herself in the ancient temple of the gods, and she could see him standing in the doorway.  
  
Three and a half millennia ago they had found themselves in a confrontation that each knew would potentially be their last. He had stood in the entrance to the temple, to that citadel of light that was the home of the gods, and he had spoken simple words to her. He had said, "The duel of the twin gods will now begin."  
  
And her she found herself faced with his reincarnation, faced with the same strength and determination that his past self had displayed. He had spoke words that were far to similar to his words in the past for it to be mere coincidence. Somehow he knew the truth, somehow he knew the truth of the past.  
  
"Then let it come to an end! I will relish ending our long unfinished battle! This time it will be I who makes the final choice, not you! And I choose life for myself, and death for you!" An explosion of power knocked Kirani and Serenity to the side, blasting them straight towards the columns. Striking at such a speed would easily shatter their spines, most likely killing them.  
  
A pocket of power made its way from Drake to the girls in an instant, and they were cradled in the warmth of his strength. Slowly he lowered them to the ground, and raised his arm, a duel disk appearing upon it, ready and waiting to be used. "You were the one who chose before, and nothing has changed since then. I've already death by coming here to defeat you, and I'll do again if I have to." (DLP: 8000)  
  
"This is not merely a continuation of your duel with the others, but it is also a new game, a new duel despite its true age. I want you to shuffle your grave in with your deck, and your hand if you'd like to. You can draw a new hand of five, but you can also keep the cards you have on the field." Ihachi smiled at his words and pulled her grave out of her cemetery. She shuffled it into her deck, and then looked over her hand.  
  
"Before I shuffle this in and get a new hand, I'll set one magic or trap card on the field. Since of course you haven't had a chance to do anything, I'll just end my turn without attacking you." With that said she shuffled the three cards she held into her deck and drew five new cards, giving her new and improved options. Now it would be Drake's turn, and he had no chance.  
  
"No matter what you draw you're already finished! You don't have any cards to work with and you've got no chance of drawing a card that can save you. I've already got the card in my hand that I need to destroy you next turn. So draw, draw and die!" Drake nodded calmly, accepting these words. He drew his card and turned it up so that Ihachi could see what it was. She gasped in shock, unable to believe his luck.  
  
"Card of Sanctity." He started drawing cards, not even through his second draw before Ihachi was finished with her drawing. Since she had already had five cards she only had to draw one card. He glanced at his six cards and smiled again, power radiating off of him. He had what he needed.  
  
"Do you think that draw was luck? I'm sure you do, its just in your nature to think something like that. However, that's hardly the case. Each card I've drawn is a part of a duelist who has fallen before you. Kaiba, Yami, Kai, Bakura, Serenity, and Kirani. With their combined strength I will achieve victory." With this said he selected his cards and started his move.  
  
"I lay two cards face down and summon Neo the Magical Swordsman(1700/1000). I'll destroy the first Altest." Neo, the blonde haired magic user, raised his blade in a salute to his master. Then he pointed his blade level at the valkyrie and chanted some words in latin that none of them recognized. A burning spear of yellow light shot from the end of the sword and blasted a hole the Altest, killing her. (ILP: 8700)  
  
"You aren't invincible, you aren't unbeatable. In fact you are, in some ways, weaker then any of the duelists I've faced in my time. You rely too heavily on the ideal of the power of your cards and not the strength of yourself working with the cards. Only by becoming one with your own deck and knowing it like you know yourself can you become a true duelist." Ihachi snarled, furious at being lectured. Drake just flashed her a smirk, and then motioned for her to begin her turn.  
  
Ihachi's hand jumped to seven cards and she merely glanced at her new card before making a choice on what she needed to do. She already had the card that would finish him off, she just had to use it. His damage didn't even matter, because it was already erased. "You're still pathetic, no matter how much you try and say otherwise. No matter what cards and what strategies you fools call against me you will fail, because I am a Goddess!" (ILP: 9200)  
  
"I activate the magic card, Instant Phase! This will allow me to have double of one phase in this turn, and since I don't have a battle phase this turn I'll use my card to give myself one. Now my remaining Altest will attack, removing X-Head Cannon from the cemetery!" The last Altest rushed forwards, blade swinging towards Neo. Neo's blade rose up, connecting with the valkyrie's sword and they began pushing against each other in a contest of strength.  
  
"Reveal magic card, Shrink!" Drake's card flipped up, and its power went into action. Where before the two monsters had been almost evenly matched, now Altest was starting to be pushed back as her body decreased in size. Once she was almost half the height of Neo, the blade wielder mage slashed at waist level, decapitating Altest. (ILP: 8400)  
  
"Fine then, Brunhilde will destroy Neo!" The stronger valkyrie rushed in, sword swinging in order to strike down the previously victorious mage. Neo's blade went up, deflecting the attack. Brunhilde made a feint to her left and then struck from the right. Neo's blade managed to knock the attack aside to the most part, but it still nicked his shoulder, drawing blood. Suddenly Neo's eyes started burning with a blue inner light, and something changed.  
  
"I reveal my trap card, Power of Philosophy! This increases Neo's attack power by the defense of the attacking monster! Neo, counterstrike and cut down Brunhilde!" With a surge of magical strength, Neo threw Brunhilde backwards. He unleashed a flurry of deadly sword strikes, all designed to dazzle and confuse the woman. She attempted to follow the motions of the blade, but got lost, allowing Neo to strike. She went down, a slash from shoulder to hip. However she quickly rose up again, defense reduced. (ILP: 6500)  
  
As Brunhilde's defense dropped to one thousand, Neo's attack dropped to twenty-seven hundred, making it apparent that the effect remained in play, even if the card didn't. Ihachi grimaced and grabbed one of her other cards. "I'll set a card face down and end my turn." There was no point in risking further damage, and Fridwulfa wasn't strong enough to take on Neo at the moment.   
  
Drake added another card to his hand and made a 'hmmm' sound. Then a bright smile lept onto his features, and he grabbed two of his cards, one from each end, and shoved them into his magic and trap zones. "I'll set two more cards face down. Now Neo will destroy Valkyrie Shaun!" Neo charged energy to his blade and then sent a spiraling stream of purple magic at the simple valkyrie, intent on crushing her.   
  
"Reveal Aurora Veil! This negates your attack, ends the battle phase, and allows me to put a card with 'valkyrie' in its name into my hand!" A ripple of light jumped between Neo and the weaker valkyrie, protecting it for the moment. Ihachi ejected her deck and searched for the card she wanted, then motioned for Drake to continue. All he could do was end his turn.  
  
Ihachi drew another card, and then quickly separated the card she had selected last turn. She slammed it onto the field, picking up Shaun and sliding her into the cemetery after doing so. "I'm sacrificing for Valkyrie Sovite, in order to destroy Neo the Magical Swordsman!" The familiar valkyrie was summoned, and with a swift stroke of her blade she gutted Neo, dropping him to his knees in pain. It took almost a minute for Neo to perish, but he did so.   
  
"I'll combine the magic of Mischief of Goddesses Time to grant my monsters two battle phase. All my monsters will now attack. Brunhilde, Fridwulfa, Sovite, destroy Drake!" The three valkyries charged across the field, the hooves of their horses pounding against the marble as they went in for the kill. The combined attacks of these valkyries would do serious damage, dropping him past the half way mark. The second attack would finish him off easily.  
  
"Open face down card, Shot From the Dark! I'm using it to activate Mischief of Goddesses Time from your cemetery! Now you're the one who loses her battle phase as time jumps ever onwards!" The valkyries came to a halt, and Ihachi furiously ended her turn, allowing Drake to take his turn.  
  
"I summon Skilled Chaos Magician(1800/1600), and have it attack Sovite!" His gold robed chaos user appeared, twirling his staff like a baton between his two hands. A charge of black and light magic rose at the opposite ends of his staff and then shot out, combining into a purple light that streaked towards Sovite.  
  
"By placing a magic card from my hand on top of my deck and then shuffling, I can activate Judgement of Buodan, negating your attack!" The purple light exploded in front of Sovite, doing no damage whatsoever. With no more options left to him after his failed attack, Drake finished his turn off then and there. Now it was time to see if Ihachi could take back control of the duel. (ILP: 7500)  
  
"Now I'll activate a magic card which will represent the past and present. It is Goddess of Guardian Elda! By discarding a magic card from my hand, the present, I can set a trap from my cemetery onto the field, which was the past!" She deposited her magic card, and Drake was reminded of the card that Taichi had used against him. Apparently his card was just a recolor of this card, only he had to declare the name of the set card unlike this one.   
  
Her trap appeared, and Drake was certain he knew what it was. It was most likely Aurora Veil, with which she would stop any attack her made on her. "Now, Fridwulfa will attack Skilled Chaos Magician!" The powerful valkyrie rushed in, blade at the ready to strike down his mage. Now it was Drake's moment to make sure he didn't lose a good monster.  
  
"Reveal Justice of Thought! I now activate the first magic card on my deck, before shuffling. The second card from the top of my deck is my first magic card, and its Swords of Revealing Light!" Ihachi threw up her arms as glowing green swords shot out, nearly slicing through her and her monsters. However, they did keep her monsters in check, preventing them from attacking at all for this turn and two more afterwards.   
  
Drake picked up his next card, his thoughts focused on what he needed to do. He could certainly get rid of her current trap by attacking, but should he? He had a monster capable of being worth the attack, so if he wanted to risk giving her another monster he could. "I set one card, and attack with Skilled Chaos Magician."  
  
"Chain with Aurora Veil!" Again a ripple of light stopped the chaos attack dead in its tracks. Ihachi flicked through her deck, smirking as she came across the card she wanted and then placed it in her hand. Now that he had gotten rid of her trap card, and potentially given her a card she could use against him, he would end his scared are we? Well I won't let something as measly as a single magic card stop me. I'll set a card face down." The brown backed card appeared, and then Ihachi looked around at the swords that surrounded her. She shrugged, and her valkyries followed suit, all of them obviously unconcerned that they couldn't attack at the moment. (ILP: 8000)  
  
"I'll end there. Now you've only got two more free turns, because my next turn is the last turn for the swords. After that, you'll be finished by the power of my Goddess Deck." She smirked again and waved her hand, indicating that it was his turn at last. Drake could only smirk back, because he knew something that she didn't. He knew exactly what he had been hoping for.  
  
"Ihachi, this duel is just about to start. I made those attacks specifically so that I could make sure you ended up at eight thousand life points. I wanted us on even terms in that respect before I truly went on the offensive. Now that time has just about come." He drew his card and grinned, knowing that shortly he could go on the offensive. Ihachi just yawned.  
  
"Oh please. You already tried an offensive, and despite some effectiveness it ended up with me back at my starting life points. You're bluffing won't do you any good against me, because I won't fall for it." Her sneer was enough to say that she didn't buy it even without the use of her words. Dalin glanced between the two, trying to find some sign of stain, or perhaps a glance into what they were thinking. Drake was a picture of calm, and Ihachi a picture of arrogance. Nothing else could be seen.  
  
"Believe what you will, its still going to happen. I play a monster in defense mode and end my turn." His monster appeared in card form, horizontally floating next to his Skilled Chaos Magician. The Valkyries on the other side looked down at the card and scoffed, their horses feet pawing at the ground as they waited for the time when they could again attack, unhindered by the Swords of Revealing Light.  
  
Ihachi drew another card, the glow of Solem Wishes bursting around her, and motioned to her valkyries to calm themselves. The horses settled, but the valkyries still looked restless, hands held tight on the hilt of their swords. They wanted to leap into action in the instant the swords were down, and that was most likely what Ihachi had in mind anyways. (ILP: 8500)  
  
"Ha! My life points are now past the starting point, so how do you figure yourself as having gone on the offensive? I happen to notice that you're still sitting there, cowering behind your Swords of Revealing Light. My next turn I'll show you true power. For the moment, I can only end my turn." As soon as she said this the swords faded away, and the valkyries on their horses reared up, cheering as the way opened for their attack. Things were even again, though of course Ihachi saw that she had the advantage.  
  
Drake drew another card, giving him a total of three cards. The cards in his hand weren't all critical, but he was certain he would need the effect of his set monster. He just had to hope for luck, because fate had nothing to do with what would happen next. "I flip my set monster, Sage of Everlasting Light(500/400)! Upon being flipped I flip a coin. If I guess right I draw five cards, if I guess wrong, I lose five cards. So let's do this. Coin Toss!"  
  
He drew the coin from his pocket and flicked it into the air, both of them watching it make a spiraling arc, spinning as it went. The parabolic arc would take it down and back into his hand, and then he would know if he won or lost the toss and possibly the duel. "I choose heads!" The coin spun and he reached out to catch it, hiding it within his clenched fist.  
  
He opened his palm, and saw a smiling face. He replied in kind, his face breaking into a grin as he showed Ihachi the coin, heads up. Swiftly he drew five more cards, giving him all the options he needed to make the offensive he had promised. "I set two cards and summon Apprenticeship Magician(400/800)!"  
  
The two brown cards appeared in front of him, followed by a blond spellcaster with spiky hair. He was merely an apprentice, but it was a different power that Drake would be drawing on momentarily. The third and final counter, that was what he needed. "Upon being summoned Apprenticeship Magician lets me place a magic counter on one card, and so I'll use that counter on Skilled Chaos Magician."  
  
"Now I activate my previous set card, Dark Magic Revival, activating Shrink from my graveyard!" The Shrink magic card was used, and the power of Brunhilde dropped to a mere nine hundred, though it was still stronger then two of his monsters, it wasn't greater then Skilled Chaos Magician. It would be easy to attack it. After being used the Shrink card went to Ihachi's cemetery.  
  
"I sacrifice Skilled Chaos Magician and his three counters to special summon Black Magician of Chaos(2800/2600)!" A burst of dark light and a wisp of smoke later he had his strongest magician on the field, and he was already ejecting a magic card from his cemetery. With the card he had taken, he could do everything he needed to do, but it would wait.  
  
"I set one card face down. Now, I play the magic card that represents the unity of my monsters and myself, the power that comes from relying on the strength of others to give onself strength instead of relying only on yourself. I play, Magician's Cross to combine two of my magician's attacks into a single attack of three thousand! My Sage and my Apprentice will attack Brunhilde together!" The two magician's crossed their staffs and fired a wave of magical energy, shattering Brunhilde's shield completely. (ILP: 6400)  
  
"Black Magician of Chaos, use your chaos magic to destroy Brunhilde and remove her from the game!" Like you always see in the anime, the two monsters rushed towards each other at great speed. The magician swung his staff and the valkyrie swung her sword, both of them coming to rest opposite each other, Black Magician of Chaos in a crouch. Slowly Brunhilde collapsed, falling off her horse and then fading away. (ILP: 4500)  
  
"I'll end my turn now. Now you see the truth. I wasn't bluffing at all, and I'm not even remotely finished yet. So go ahead and make whatever attack or move you want, because I'm ready for you." Even as he spoke these words, he could see that Ihachi wasn't really listening. Her eyes were ablaze with rage, she could hardly seem to focus at all.  
  
"How dare you?! Remove my monster from the game will you? I'll crush you for it! All I need to do is attack with Fridwulfa. But first I'll set one card, protecting myself for later if there is a later." Fridwulfa readied herself, her armored horse prancing and anxious to carry her mistress into battle. Fridwulfa stroked the horse's nose, and watched idly as the card appeared behind her. Meanwhile Solem Wishes did its work. (ILP: 5000)  
  
"Fridwulfa, attack!" The valkryie, powered up to twenty-eight hundred attack power thanks to its effect, rushed in at his weakest face-up monster, the Apprenticeship Magician. If the attack succeeded then Drake would be taking a lot of damage, too much in fact.   
  
"I activate two of my set cards! The first is Union of the Minds! By sacrificing monsters on the field I can summon a monster from my deck with the same sacrifice requirement. It also forces you to switch the target of your attack, namely to my Black Magician of Chaos. And I'm summon Dark Magician(2500/2100)!" The two smaller magic users vanished, replaced by the purple robed mage with his great power. Fridwulfa shifted in mid-attack and headed towards his stronger monster.  
  
"Reveal Force of the Dead, my second trap! When monsters leave my field in any way I can destroy magic or trap cards on my opponent's field equal to the number that left. So I'll destroy Solemn Wishes and your newest set card!" His trap was revealed, and blasts of energy erupted from it, coming in the form of familiar spirits, looking just like his two sacrificed monsters. The spirits rushed through the named cards and obliterated them completely.  
  
"Finally I activate Shot From the Dark, reusing Shrink from your cemetery and putting it back in mine where it belongs. Time for Fridwulfa to get small!" In mid-gallop the mighty valkyrie turned into a little pigtailed girl in armor who was barely able to hold up her sword. Black Magician of Chaos raised his staff and fired a small streak of energy which exploded across the valkryie's chest, and in a flash of light she was completely gone. (ILP: 3600)  
  
"Thanks to the effect of Black Magician of Chaos, your monster didn't go to the cemetery and therefore you couldn't use its effect to maintain it. I told you, I'm ready for anything you have throw at me." His jacket whipped about by the wind of their two interacting powers, and Dalin could sense the change. Ihachi was becoming angrier by the second, and whatever was about to happen wouldn't be good.   
  
He moved in front of the others, readying his energies. A silver shield of light formed in front of him, and just in time too. Ihachi's power exploded. "YOU BASTARD! AGAIN YOU REMOVE MY PRECIOUS VALKYRIES! I'VE BEEN GOING EASY ON YOU MORTALS THE WHOLE TIME, BUT NOW THAT ENDS! NOW YOU WILL SUFFER UNDER THE ULTIMATE POWER OF MY DECK!"   
  
Red tendrils of energy jumped about the temple, blowing chunks out of columns and blasting apart the throne. Nothing that the tendrils of power touched survived, and the tendrils were coming straight at the rest of the group. Drake moved to extend his shield, but noticed that Dalin already had one up. The shield protected the group from the tendrils, keeping them from harm and keeping him from having to expend any extra power.  
  
"This is the power of the valkyries, this is the power of my goddesses, this is the power that I've been holding back. Behold, the Citadel of Endless Light!" She slapped the card into her field card zone, and then it began. Her raging power subsided, and the temple began to shake for a completely different reason. Something was rising up behind Ihachi, something huge and awe inspiring.  
  
It was a building, with domes and spires, a palace with palisades, towers, and a portcullis. The thing that made it unique was that it was glowing with an intense inner light, and a ring of floating spheres generated more light, illuminating the entire temple. This glorious light seemed pure, but quickly Ihachi's power took control of it, and the power became tainted. It was tainted light, the light of darkness.  
  
"Bow before the horror of my citadel, for in my next turn its awesome might will crush you, and I will have the ultimate victory!" Drake stared up at the amazing sight of the Citadel of Endless Light, and he couldn't help but feel that there was something about this card to fear. It was similar to the feeling he got when he saw the gods in action. It was the feeling of pure unadulterated power.   
  
"That is the last part of my turn. Now its over, and so are you!" With the declaration of her turn's end, it became Drake's time to draw a card. He did so, giving him a total of five cards in his hand. He considered his options, trying to decide what to do. He had no knowledge about Citadel of Endless Light, so he couldn't be certain what it could do. He'd have to tread lightly.  
  
"No single card can save you. It's always pathetic when any duelist believes that one single card can claim victory by sheer force of power. But that's just how you are, always relying on raw power to win. My cards work together to bring me success, and that's why I'm going to defeat you." He smirked and raised one clenched fist, an explosion of golden power roaring off of his body. Ihachi sneered right back at him, flaring her own power in a contest of will and strength.  
  
"My monsters will attack!" The Dark Magician and Black Magician of Chaos raised their respective weapons and opened fire at Ihachi's Valkyries. A sphere of chaos energy shot across the field, followed closely by a stream of dark magic. Suddenly the Citadel issued forth a blaze of light, and the valkyries exploded, becoming spheres of pure light.  
  
"By sacrificing my valkyries I can negate your attacks and end your battle phase!" The spheres shot forwards, colliding together to form a wall of light. The two magic attacks slammed into the barrier and exploded, sending ripples across the wall like pebbles falling into a lake. The attacks had no effect whatsoever.   
  
"I place two more cards face down. Now its your turn Ihachi, show me what you're capable of. With no monsters and just a puny field card in play, I doubt you've got any way of achieving success." His turn ended, with him still holding three cards. She held four cards in her hand, which increased to five when she drew. But he was right, he still had the advantage.  
  
"My Citadel of Endless Light has a steep upkeep, but it's well worth it. I now pay three thousand life points to maintain Citadel of Endless Light!" Drake watched in confusion as ripples of energy were leached off of Ihachi and into the towering building of light. Three thousand life points was higher an upkeep then any he had ever heard of before. What kind of power did this field card have if its upkeep was that high? (ILP: 600)  
  
"Next I'll restore my life points with Reward of Discard, depositing the remaining four cards from my hand into the grave to boost my life points by four thousand, higher then they were at the start of the turn!" She grinned and folded her hand up, slamming it into her cemetery slot. As she did so, a blue glow surrounded her, showing evidence that her life points were being restored. Things were once again more even. (ILP: 4600)  
  
"Its now time to reveal one of the several effects of my citadel! I will pay two thousand life points to special summon to the field as many valkyries in the cemetery or out of the game as I can fit on my field! So I raise two Valkyrie Sovite's, two Valkyrie Brunhilde's, and a Valkryie Fridwulfa!" The five named monsters appeared in bursts of light, filling up Ihachi's monster zones. Despite their dominating presence, it wasn't anything to worry about, as Drake's monsters had greater attack power. Except of course for one simple fact. (ILP: 2600)  
  
"The effect of my two Sovite's now comes into effect! Your Dark Magician and Black Magician of Chaos are destroyed!" The two identical monsters charged across the field, sweeping with their weapons. The two magic users raised their staffs in defense, but the heavy blades of the two valkyries sliced through the wands and into the mages, killing them and taking them off the field. Drake pocketed Black Magician of Chaos since it was removed from the game.   
  
"And with no monsters to defend yourself with, I'll attack directly with all five of my monsters to end this duel in my favor!" The five monsters rushed across the field, blades swinging and at the ready. Ihachi threw back her head and laughed as the five women rushed at Drake, ready to cut him down in a second. Drake simply stood there, calm as ever.   
  
"You've walked into your own demise! Reveal trap, Mirror Force!" The silver barrier erupted in front of him, blocking the attacks of the five monsters. Their swords collided against it, and the force was reflected back at them, sending them hurtling back towards Ihachi. In moments they would be gone, finished, and leaving a clear field for Drake to work with.  
  
"Fool! Citadel of Endless Light prevents my valkyries from being destroyed by magic or trap cards! You've negated my attack, but my creatures remain intact!" Instead of being destroyed as they should have been, golden auras sprang up, cushioning their falls. They floated to a casual rest, the hooves of the horses pawing at the ground, ready for when they would next take action.   
  
That was the last part of her turn she could take, so she motioned for him to start his turn. He drew a card and looked at what he now had, then down at his field, and at hers. He considered the cards in his graveyard and those in his deck, and he started to smile slightly. Perhaps things would work out better then he thought, as long as he played his cards right. Silently he muttered to himself, "Pun intended."   
  
"I set one monster and one card face down. That's all for now, but know one thing. Shortly your citadel will be gone, and you'll be finished! You can't afford to pay its upkeep in this next turn, so it will be destroyed!" His two cards appeared, and he smirked at Ihachi, knowing that he was right. The Citadel of Endless Light was certainly powerful, but with an upkeep cost of three thousand points, even starting at eight thousand life points you'd only be able to keep it for two turns.  
  
Ihachi smirked as she drew her card, and then she raised her hands into the air. "During my standby phase my Citadel will increase my life points by one thousand times the number of light types on my field! So my life points raise instead of diminish even as I pay upkeep!" A stream of light poured forth from the tallest tower of the citadel and rushed into her outstretched arms. She was inundated with life giving power, and her life points shot up, overbalancing the decrease from the payment. (ILP: 4600)  
  
"I'll use the magic card Painful Choice." She ejected her deck and searched through it, finally settling on five cards. She turned them to face Drake, revealing each of them to him. He looked at them from their distance, and considered the options. He only knew the effects of two of the cards, and he didn't trust the others, so he knew what he would choose. He picked the card second to the left, Blessings of Goddess, and let her discard the rest.  
  
"It didn't matter what you picked, because I can activate my face down card, Fallen Angel's Gift, returning the discarded cards to my hand!" She ejected the four cards from her cemetery and returned them to her hand, causing Drake to grimace. The other card he had known was Raigeki, which meant he could kiss his monster goodbye right her and now.   
  
"The time has come to reveal the second greatest force of this deck. Three cards which represent the past, the present, and the future. Three goddesses with which to bring about your end! I play Goddess Skuld's Oracle, Goddess Beldandy's Guardian, and Goddess Urd's Altar!" Three attractive goddess appeared on the field, standing upon the ramparts of the Citadel of Endless light, overlooking the field. Drake had a bad feeling about them.  
  
"Now I play my remaining two cards, Raigeki to destroy your set monster, and Blessings of the Goddess, to grant me five hundred life points whenever a monster is special summoned! Say goodbye to your life points!" A bolt of lightning streaked down from the sky and blew his set monster sky high, getting rid of the last of his monsters. He wasn't defenseless though, and she knew it. Otherwise she'd never have used the other cards.   
  
"My creatures will attack!" Her five monsters rushed forwards, but Drake chained with his quick-play card, Protection of the Destined. It was a magic card that prevented him from being dealt battle damage during this turn, so long as he had a spellcaster in the cemetery or on the field. Ihachi grimaced, and declared the end of her turn.   
  
Drake drew a card and started to say what he was going to do, but Ihachi suddenly spoke up first. "The first goddess comes into play! Due to Goddess Skuld's Oracle you must now draw three cards and show them to me, not seeing them yourself. Then I arrange them in whatever order I want, and you replace them on your deck!" He drew the three cards and showed them, watching as they appeared in giant form in front of him, facing her. She selected the order, the middle card first, then the card on the right, followed by the left card.   
  
He replaced the cards and started to talk again, but the next goddess started to glow, and so did his deck. "Now I use the effect of Goddess Beldandy's Guardian! I can guess the name of the card on top of your deck, and if I'm right then its set on the field! And since I arranged them I already know. A monster will be set face down on the field, and since it was special summoned I gain life points!" Drake grimaced as he played the monster in face down defense position, and watched as her life points rose. (ILP: 5100)  
  
"The effect of the last goddess is now mine to use. Goddess Urd's Altar allows me to name a face down monster on your field. If I name it correctly its removed from the game. So I simply name it, Guardian Magician of the Night, and watch as it vanishes from play!" Drake's eyes widened as he realized just how bad a situation this was. His guardian magician faded away, and he pocketed the card. Now each turn she could remove one of his monsters from the game, and know what cards he had coming next. These goddesses were incredibly dangerous, he had to get rid of them.   
  
"I set one card face down, and end my turn!" That was the best he could do, and he had to depend on that card. Ihachi had no idea what it was, so he was somewhat safe, however the next time he drew then she'd know for certain. He just had to have hope, he had to believe that he could survive his way through the next few turns. He had to have faith in his strength just like he always had.   
  
Ihachi drew, and again a column of light surged down upon her, boosting her life points yet again. With this increase she would rise nearly to the starting point of life points, nearly back up to eight thousand. With each turn the situation became worse, but Drake would hold on to his own hope. "I set one card face down. Next I'll teach you about more of what Citadel of Endless Light can do." (ILP: 7100)  
  
"By giving up my battle phase I can sacrifice any number of light types on the field once in the turn to deal six hundred damage to you for each sacrificed. Of course if I use this effect I can't use the revival effect, but that's just fine. I sacrifice my five monsters to deal three thousand points of direct damage!" The five monsters shattered and formed into beams of light which rushed forwards, slamming into Drake's chest and dealing serious damage to him. (DLP: 5000)  
  
"And I'll reduce the defense power of my Brunhilde's and my Fridwulfa to allow them to remain on the field. With that said, I shall end my turn." She smirked at this, watched as the monsters restored themselves, the only difference being that their shields were broken in half. The situation just kept getting worse and worse for Drake.  
  
He drew his card, and watched as she arranged his three next cards, going from left to right in that order. Then she declared monster and he was forced to set the card, increasing her life points yet again. "And I name that monster as Mystic Elf, removing it from the game!" His elf vanished, and he pocketed it like his other removed cards. With this move, their life points became even more uneven. (ILP: 7600)  
  
"I won't be giving up just yet Ihachi, I still have faith in my own power. I know that our choices have been made, and I'll follow it through to the end, because that was my choice! Through tears of crystal we did battle in the past, and I made that one critical choice, a choice caused by the one you made. Everything since then has been because of you and that choice. Its not over until I lay dead and you suffer eternally! One card face down, then end!"  
  
She added a card to her hand, giving her just one card. Now she had a choice to make, and Drake knew what she was going to choose. She had broken even in life points this turn, so now she was going to up her monsters. She also wouldn't be attacking, because her effects prevented her from doing so. "I pay the two thousand life points."  
  
The two Sovites returned the field, an odd choice from her, but nevertheless it was her choice. However since she had special summoned two monsters she would gain five hundred life points for each one, nearly negating the cost of reviving them in the first place. A brilliant combo of cards she had created. "Now I activate Reginleif, drawing five cards!" (ILP: 6600)  
  
"I set a single card face down, and end my turn." The card appeared beside her four permanent magic cards, all in front of the citadel. With these cards all together that meant she had a full field of cards, both magic and trap. She had virtually no options, but she had a lot more power then Drake had. She thought that could bring victory, but Drake would prove her wrong.  
  
He drew a card and watched as his cards were rearranged, happy to discover that he hadn't had a monster amongst those cards. So he was simply forced to discard the card that she had named, his Chain Destruction trap card. Why she had gotten rid of that he didn't know, but it didn't matter. "Its time to renew my options! I activate Reload, shuffling my hand into my deck and drawing an equal number of cards. Now you'll have no knowledge of my cards!"   
  
He drew three more cards and smirked, hoping that he could keep this idea going. If this worked out, he'd be regaining the advantage in this duel, but only if it worked out. He just had to keep hoping. "I set a monster in defense mode and end my turn." Ihachi smirked, thinking to herself just how worthless his move had been.   
  
Now that it was Ihachi's turn she got a chance to regain life points, being boosted by a total of two thousand yet again because of the five monsters she had on the field. As Drake knew, she was going to do something very predictable, she was going to use the second effect of her citadel. "I sacrifice my five monsters!" The five creatures turned into points of light and erupted on a barrier he formed with his power, protecting his body, but not his life points. (DLP: 2000)  
  
"Reveal trap, Restoration, boosting my monsters back to their original defense strengths!" The three remaining valkyries hadn't had shields because they had been destroyed, but the effect of Restoration brought those shields back. With their defenses now back at two thousand a piece, they would be up for being sacrificed as many times as needed.  
  
"You see Drake? Its worthless. All of your attempts at victory accomplish nothing, all of your hopes and dreams mean nothing to me. My Citadel of my Goddesses and Valkyries are just to great a power for you to handle. I shall set a single card face down, and finish my turn." The card appeared, replacing Restoration. Drake gave her a casual nod, and drew his next card, waiting for her to activate her goddesses. (ILP: 8600)  
  
The three cards appeared, and were quickly rearranged. She declared monster and the card was set on the field. Drake knew what it was since he was the one who had set it, so he knew she was about to remove it, which would help destroy his deck. She had also just gained more life points, but he wasn't bothered at all. "Your set monster is Old Vindictive Magician!" He nodded and removed the monster from the game. (ILP: 9100)  
  
"Now that we've done that, how about I use Trap Reflector? I'm gonna run the risk that it will count the valkyries on your field, as I use Reginleif from the graveyard!" He got his wish as the effect went off, and he drew three cards, one for each valkryie she had. This meant that he now held one card in his hand that Ihachi didn't know about. That was going to have to do it for him.  
  
"I've got the answer now Ihachi. I know how to defeat you and your combos, I can turn the tide here and now! To do so I sacrifice my set monster for Disintao-Elder Mage(2300/1700)!" The magician that appeared was an old man in purple robes with long graying black hair. In his left hand was a pure black staff with a sapphire set into the head of it. He was impressive, and obviously of the Dark Magician family of monsters.  
  
"That's your answer? A feeble old wizard? What could he possibly do? HAHAHAHAHAHAH!!!" Her laughter continued, but neither Drake nor his elder mage seemed bothered by it. They shared a conspiratorial smirk, and Drake held up two cards from his hand, and he interrupted her laughter.   
  
"By discarding two non-monster cards from my hand, Disintao allows me to destroy all of my opponent's magic and trap cards. So say goodbye to your precious citadel and your combos! Torrent of Magic!" Disintao raised his staff above his head, and a blue glow surged around the sapphire. Suddenly an arc of blue light burst from it, sweeping across each of the individual cards on her field. As the light touched them, there was an explosion, filling most of the room in dust as they were cleared away.   
  
The smoke filtered away, revealing a supreme lack of goddesses, and other cards. Ihachi stood in front of Drake, fury etched across her face. However to Drake's surprise the fury slowly faded into a dull smirk, still angry but slightly satisified. Then he saw the glow of light, and the Citadel reappeared. "You did well, but Citadel of Endless Light can't be destroyed by magic, traps, or effect cards."  
  
Drake grimaced, then glanced at his other cards. He had a few options left to him, so he might as well make do. "I set one card face down. Now Disintao will attack a Brunhilde!" Disintao leveled his staff at the powerful woman and sent a beam of blue magic at the creature, blasting her shield almost completely apart. It also did its part in denting Ihachi's life points. (ILP: 8600)  
  
Now that it was once again her turn she was ready to undo the damage that had been done to her. She placed the sixth card into her hand, and enjoyed the feelings of streamers of light and power rushing through her body. It had no effect on her life points, but it did feel nice. "Now what shall I do? I could drop you to a meager two hundred life points, or I could wait and do it all in my next turn. What do you think?"  
  
The punk duelist swept his gaze over the field, then allow it to rest on his most recent placed card for a few moments. He smiled slightly, not realizing that Ihachi was watching. That look meant he wanted her to attack using Fridwulfa to try and clear a path, then he would activate his placed card to turn the tide on her. No, she wouldn't fall for such a thing. "Do whatever you feel is right. I'm not one to contradict your decisions."  
  
"Alright then, I know exactly what I'm going to choose! I sacrifice my three monsters to the effect of the Citadel of Endless Light!" Her three creatures let out cries of pure joy as their souls were ripped from their bodies, and all their mass was converted into raw light and energy. Those points of light coalesced and then shot forwards at....well the speed of light. Drake swept his hand in front of him, creating a barrier that absorbed the assault. But he wasn't done quite yet. (DLP: 200)  
  
"I'll chain that effect with Lariat of Flame! This trap increases both player's life points by one thousand, and prevents you from using that effect ever again!" A rope of flame erupted from his card and shot out across the field, wrapping itself around the Citadel's tallest spire. With that eternal flame on the eternal light, the sacrificial effect of the Citadel of Endless Light was now useless. Ihachi, was of course furious. (DLP: 1200, ILP: 9600)  
  
"Damn you! But I can still win this duel without that effect, I've got the power for it! Next turn I'll bring you down, just you wait. For now I place a single card face down and end my turn!" The card materialized behind the three Valkyries in the slot on the right that was right next to the bend in the DD2. It was her waiting trap, and she would use it to tilt the scales just a bit more. She would win, that was for certain.  
  
As soon as Drake drew his card he was stopped by Ihachi. She thrust one arm forward and intoned her move in that crystal voice of hers. As she did so, her face down card slowly lifted itself up, revealing a man clawing at his face as he melted away. "Feel the wrath of my trap card, Faltering Life! You must remove two random cards from your hand, and for that I gain a further one thousand life points!"   
  
The punk duelist glanced down at his three cards, then folded them up. He silently unfurled them and held them out, facing down. A black, sickly hand rose from her trap card and meandered across the field. It paused when it reached him and snatched the middle card. Drake snapped them together and then apart again. The hand paused, considering its options, then took the card on the right. They faded away, and Drake was left with one chance, one card, one hope. (ILP: 10600)  
  
Slowly he dropped his gaze to the single card he held in his hand. It still remained facing the marble floor, so he had no idea what it was. He tilted it up slowly, spotting the green edge that declared it as a magic card. His breath caught in his threat for that moment, for he knew that he had two magic cards in his hand. "Here's hoping...."  
  
He flipped the card up all the way, and stopped dead, staring at it. Ihachi raised an eyebrow in questioning, and Dalin did the same. What was so shocking about the card? Was it just a bad card. In response to the card and not to their stare he threw his head back and started laughing. Dalin watched the other duelist, uncertain whether he was happy, or if he had just lost it.  
  
"Its time to turn the tide of this duel, time to show you exactly what kind of strength that you've been dealing with! Your Faltering Life card could have stripped from me the one chance I had to turn the tide, but instead fate and luck were on my side! Here is the card that will bring me victory in this duel!" He held the card up, then twisted it around so that it was facing Ihachi. She stared at it for a moment, and then took a step backwards, horror written across her features.  
  
"But....how? That's just too lucky! It can't be possible, I refuse to believe that!" She took two more steps back, and then caught herself, realizing she was appearing afraid. This didn't make any difference did it? She still had the most power, she was still the superior one. One card wouldn't make her lose this duel....she still had the advantage, no matter what he thought!  
  
"I don't feel that there is such a thing as too lucky, unless of course its bad luck for another person. In this case that's exactly what it is, so now I'll really introduce you to your bad luck. Activate magic card, Absolute Control!" As soon as he activated the card, the effect started coming into play. By its magical effect he would be able to gain control of one permanent magic or trap card on the field. Drake had only one choice of what to control.  
  
"Come to me, Citadel of Endless Light!" A tornado of light was kicked up, the raw power of the Citadel being unseated from its place. The palace around them shook as the Citadel moved, swirling together into that unusual light vortex. It rippled in space and in time, and then shot across the field. It settled down, and now the Citadel that had dominated Ihachi's side, was now on Drake's side of the field.  
  
"All this power has come to me. I've got all the power that you've been using against me during this whole duel. I can choose to use it against you, but I've also got one other choice. In this case I feel it is the right one. What I choose....I choose to send Citadel of Endless Light to the cemetery!" Ihachi let out a scream of fury as the Citadel began collapsing in on itself. This was the end of its awesome power.  
  
"NOOO! My Valkyries will go with it!" The once mighty Citadel became a shrinking point of light, but the smaller it got the greater the force of its pull became. It was collapsing mass of light, and it was going to be creating a miniature black hole. Being right next to it Drake had to exert the most power, his golden aura being pulled in as he fought it off. Ihachi held herself steady with her magic, and Dalin did the same at his distance.  
  
The Valkryies however were not so lucky. The lacked the power that the three duelists had, and therefore all they could do was gallop in the opposite direction in an attempt to escape. Their attempts were futile, no amount of running away could save them now. They were pulled steadily backwards until they reached the event horizon, and then they were no more. Removed from the game. "And that, as they say, is that. I think I chose right."  
  
Ihachi stared at her completely empty field in horror, unable to comprehend how things had so suddenly changed on her. Drake had his cards, a single remaining face down card and his deadly Disintao-Elder Mage. "You have nothing to defend yourself with, leaving me an open path directly to your life points! Disintao will attack those life points!" The old magic user sent a stream of blue light out of his staff, which collided with Ihachi's energy barrier, not damaging her but still dealing the damage to her life points. (ILP:7300)  
  
"Just think Ihachi, everything you worked so hard for has unraveled completely in just a single turn. That is the kind of power that I possess. The power to bring death even where there is the greatest amount of life. That is the power that is possessed by someone who has chosen to accept death. My powers are limitless because I have no life to hold it back, but your eternal life keeps you bogged down by barriers between you and ultimate power!" His power flared, pushing Ihachi back slightly. It wouldn't have happened had she been prepared, but she was still furious and in shock about the destruction of he Citadel.  
  
"You're going to pay! This is I swear! I'll show you the truth of my power, I'll show you what else I can do! The second greatest force of the Valkryies! Walkuren Ritt!" A torrent of roses whirled across the field as she used her magic card. Drake could faintly here an old Germanic symphony rising up as the card's effect came into play. Ihachi slammed her four monsters onto the field as swiftly as she could.  
  
"Rise Valkyrie Sigdrifa(2300/2300), Valkyrie Mist(1700/1200), Valkyrie Rota(1500/500), and Valkyrie Granidor(1700/1900)!" The four named Valkyries road out onto the field, accompanied by the storm of rose petals. Each one was another beautiful woman in armor, on a horse, with a sword and a shield. Valkyrie Granidor bore enough resemblance to Fridwulfa that Drake was certain they two had something in common with each other.  
  
"Valkyrie Sigdrifa's strength is equal to your Disintao's so when they clash both will be destroyed, opening a path for me to destroy your life points and your very soul! I won't let you come back at all, ever again! ATTACK MY VALKYRIES!" All four charged forwards, swords at the ready. Disintao rushed to meet them, catching Sigdrifa's blade with his pure black staff and stopping it. The two were dead even.  
  
"You want luck Ihachi? Lets find out just how lucky I am! Open face down card, Take One Chance! I now get the opportunity to use a single card from my cemetery, and I've got to hope its something good!" He placed his hand next to the cemetery slot, and caught the card that was ejected. He glanced at it and then raised it up, activating its power.  
  
"Mirror Force!" Ihachi cried out in horror, unable to understand how he had gotten so lucky. He had only a single chance at stopping her, and it went well for him! The silver barrier shot up between Disintao and Sigdrifa, and the four Valkyries were hurled backwards, shattering into fine powder, leaving no trace that they had ever been there at all.   
  
"I won't be defeated, I refuse to. I place this single card face down, and end my turn!" The card appeared in front of her, face down. It was perhaps her last hope, and it was of course the last card in her hand. She now had zero cards, just like Drake. They were almost dead even in options, but he held the field advantage at the moment. If she had her way that was going to change.  
  
Drake pulled his next card free, only casually glancing at the diminished deck he had in his deck holder. He held the advantage, so he needed to keep it up. He had to press her with everything he had, he needed to achieve victory here and now. He couldn't allow her to get a leg up. "I set one card face down."  
  
As soon as the card appeared in front of him he declared his next move. This should take Ihachi down a notch and make things a bit more even. "Disintao, attack directly!" The elder mage sent that pulsing blue magic at Ihachi, ready to drop her to a more reasonable level of life points. If the attack connected then she would fall to an even five thousand life points. It was higher then his, but still better then seventy-three hundred.  
  
"Now it is you who have fallen into a trap! The quick-play magic card Cloud With Silver Lining! Like Aurora Veil it negates your attack. Like Aurora Veil it lets me place a special card into my hand. But in this case its not a valkyrie, it's a divine type monster! Any divine type at all!" She ejected the needed card from her deck, and the attack fizzled, halted by a silvery wisp of cloud that got in the way.   
  
Drake nodded, and then declared the end of his turn. Ihachi drew another card, giving her a total of two cards in her hand. Whatever divine type she had chosen, that goddess would serve her well. All her goddesses were incredibly powerful, so he had to assume that this one was as well. Whatever it was, he would be ready. "I summon Goddess of Birth(300/300)!"  
  
The name goddess appeared, a beautiful woman with flowing snow white hair that ran down her back to waist level. She had a motherly appearance, and her flowing robes rippled in a nonexistent breeze. Ihachi was smirking now, which meant there was something powerful about this goddess. "Now to reveal her effect! By sacrificing her and one thousand of my life points I can special summon a Valkyrie Goddess(3000/3000) from my deck!" (ILP: 6300)  
  
In an explosion of light the goddess was no more. In her place stood a valkyrie like none Drake had seen through the entire duel. Her armor was forged of gold and it shone in the rays of sun that filtered in through the doors of the temple. Locks of golden hair cascaded down her back, and eyes that were a field of blue stared at Drake. Her sword was a thing of flame, and her shield was like warped air. "Her power is incredible...."  
  
"Indeed it is. For every card that has been removed from the game my Valkyrie Goddess gains five hundred attack and defense points. This is the creature that destroyed Seto Kaiba, for its power became so great he could not stand against it. Now witness the awesome power of Valkyrie Goddess!" The valkyrie raised her sword into the air, and it erupted in a firestorm. Her power raged, and soon it was settled at an astounding 12000/12000. It was incredible.  
  
"Valkyrie Goddess, destroy Disintao with your Sword of the Eternal Flame! Destroy him and strike down Drake for him, end him here and now!" An explosion of fire leapt from the blade, streaking towards Disintao. The elder mage stood no chance against such a great power, and with that attack he would be destroyed, and along with him the last of Drake's life points.  
  
"Activate Magical Hats!" The four hats materialized, sweeping up Disintao and hiding him from Ihachi. The attack barreled onwards, striking the hat that was second from the right. The smoke cleared away, revealing absolutely nothing. Disintao was perfectly fine, and Drake had a chance to recover.   
  
He drew his card, then he shifted Disintao into defense mode to protect his life points from a further attack. He still had three hats, and two of them were empty. At least for the moment. "I'm going to set a monster in defense mode under one of the hats. Now see if you can guess where my monsters are. Your Valkyrie Goddess is strong, but she doesn't guarantee victory." With that said, he finished his turn, giving it over to Ihachi who had more she could do.  
  
"You fool, her power will be what wins this duel, I guarantee that. I summon Valkyrie Hildr(1900/1700) to even the odds of finding your monsters. Now my Valkyrie Goddess will attack the hat on the left, and Valkyre Hildr will attack the hat on the right!" The explosion of flame erupted on the far left hat, and a single sweep of a blade cut straight through the far right hat. There was the sound of metal against metal, and Hildr's blade was stopped.  
  
"You've attacked Guardian Magician of the Day(1400/1900), whose defense is equal to Hildr's attack. He is revealed, but he still remains." Ihachi just shrugged, completely ignoring the air robed magic user. With no more hats it was obvious where Disintao was, so the remaining hat faded away, revealing him in a crouched position with staff held up above his head in defense.   
  
"It'll only take a few more turns to finish you, that's all. You're just delaying the inevitable. End turn." Her turn was finished, and Drake drew his card. He glanced at it, staring for several seconds. He was thinking of what he could do, hoping that he could win this duel. He didn't want to place the burden on anyone else. He had hoped not to have to come and face her, but she had proved too strong. Even the power he had helped Kai with wasn't enough.  
  
'If I use this card right I might be able to make this work, but I can't be certain. Its worth a shot though.' He nodded to himself and placed the card down on the field. "I set a single card face down. Now I'm ready for you. Go ahead and take your best shot." The card shimmered into view, and that was all he could do for the turn. Ihachi smirked, seeing that victory would soon be hers. All she needed to do was keep up her attacks and she would win.  
  
"I equip Hildr with Suspension Bridge of Hero, granting her the same effect as my Valkyrie Goddess has, at least for her attack points. Now she raises to ten thousand nine hundred attack points! My two monsters will attack and destroy your two monsters!" The fire shot forwards, followed by the sword assault of Hildr. However Drake wasn't ready to go down because of a few paltry attacks.  
  
"I chain with Mechanical Magic Mirror! This lets me use a magic card from your cemetery, and I'm using Cloud With Silver Lining!" The silvery cloud placed itself in the way, absorbing the fire attack and the sword strike. Slowly it faded away, leaving Drake's two monsters left in place, perfectly intact. Ihachi raised an eyebrow and then started laughing at him.  
  
"What a pointless move! Certainly it saved your monsters, but its not like you can use the second effect of Cloud With Silver Lining. I'll just end my turn, but know that in my next turn I'll most certainly destroy you. All I need is a third monster, then you will perish." She ended her turn with a haughty toss of her hair, sending the russet brown locks flying back over her shoulder. She flashed him a smirk, and then tossed one in the general direction of Dalin. Should Drake fall, he would probably step up, the fool.  
  
Drake lowered his eyes, letting his energy reach out to the souls that hung around him. Each of these bodies in chains were truly souls, souls that could join with him to grant him what he needed. There was one card in his deck that he needed, and if he didn't draw it now then he was finished. 'Please, everyone, she can't win. I beg of you, help me get what I need.'  
  
He let out his breath as he felt the reassuring touch of nearly a thousand souls stroking his. They gave him their confidence, their determination, their faith in him. They were allowing him to determine their fate. He drew calmly, and looked Ihachi straight in the eyes without looking at his cards. "What seems like a long time ago I was asked a question by a strong person. He asked me that if I could save every person in the world but had to give up the life of another, or my own to achieve it, could I do so? At the time I had no answer."  
  
He raised the card up so that it was in front of his eyes, then he lowered it, his face still blank. His eyes on the other hand were shining with determination, with faith in himself and in all those who had granted him faith. "Now I do. The answer is YES! Now I'll prove it by defeating you and dooming myself. I offer my Disintao-Elder Mage and Guardian Magician of the Day in order to summon my strongest monster, my favorite monster. A monster that you will recognize! The second of the twin gods will shortly rise, for I summon Omegus(3500/3200)!"  
  
She had been wrong. He did have a divine type that he could get from the effect of her magic card. That card was Omegus, a one of a kind card that had been sent to his sister in a letter. She had given it to him, along with the other card that came in that letter. He had never understood its significance until he stared into the Pool of Memory, and now he knew. "The text on Omegus always said that it had the ability to become a god. I always assumed that it just meant it could achieve amazing heights of power. But now I know the truth."  
  
He placed his next card into its activation slot, and watched as a brown robed figure appeared in front of him. "In order to bring about the truth of its godhood I must combine it with another one of a kind card. I combine it with Wizard Mentor, and with this combination I can offer up Omegus to create the Divine Warrior God, Omega!" His two cards exploded with golden light, Omega's silver sheen swept up in the golden wave. The power was enormous, almost more then he could comprehend. It was a familiar strength that felt right to him.  
  
In place of the silver armored warrior demi-god there was a ten foot tall man who, if anything, would have to be described as beautiful. His features were like those of porcelain, his eyes a blazing field of royal blue. His armor was all gold, shoulder pads extended out, and every inch of it glowing in the reflected sunlight. His long locks of blond hair blew in the incoming breeze of wind, and his hand rested on the hilt of his sheathed blade. He was a male mirror to the Valkyrie Goddess.  
  
"Omega's power is absolutely unrivaled, for upon being summon his attack and defense points are set. He has the immunities of any divine monster, and his attack and defense are equal to the total attack and defense powers of every monster to be played in the entire duel. So witness my power and his all in one stroke!" Omega unsheathed his blade, and light exploded from it. The blade was forged from the light of the sun itself, a blade of power greater even then the Valkyrie Goddess'. His power surged upwards, the spirits of all the lost monsters of the duel flowing into him.   
  
Ihachi fell to her knees, her eyes wide and staring at this familiar and deadly creature. It was absolutely impossible...but here it was. The end....once again the end was coming to her. The soaring power of Omega was far beyond anything she had ever seen before in this game. Its power was unrivaled. "Omega(238600/238600), I want you to finish this duel. Strike my former sister down with your Omega Blade!"  
  
With a casual sweep of his blade, Omega cut through the particles of air themselves. The air in the path of his blade's cut exploded into flames, sending that power of the sun arcing towards Ihachi and her monsters. The two valkyries were vaporized by that raw power, and even Ihachi's barrier was shattered by that power. (ILP: 0)  
  
She collided with one of the marble columns, the force of her impact sending chunks flying from it. She closed her eyes, at last unconscious, completely out of it. Omega faded away, and the duel was over. But that wasn't all that was over, so was everything. As they watched the palace around them started to crumble into dust, and the False Eden outside was blown away as ashes upon the wind.  
  
"All that was done is now undone. Everything is right again. Now I can fade away in peace." Drake let out a satisified smile, and dropped to his knees. He was completely exhausted, all of his energy used up. He had nothing left to give, no way to even stand. Everything faded away around them, and all that was left was the blackness of the Shadow Realm. They were still there, still trapped....but that shouldn't be the case. With Ihachi's presence gone they should have been hurled back into the real world, where he would meet his end.  
  
"Dalin, something's wrong. We should still be here. Everything should be back to normal." Dalin followed the other duelist's gaze, traveling across the darkness. Drake was right, all of it should now be undone. Taichi was gone, Ihachi was gone, so there shouldn't be anything holding them in the darkness. It should all be over, everyone should have been returned as well, but their forms were still prone on the ground behind them.  
  
"Nothing is wrong. In fact everything is exactly right. Everything went perfectly according to plan." Drake's eyes traveled across the darkness to the source of that voice, trying to find it. Dalin had already seen it, but he was unable to say anything, shock held him for the first time he could remember. He was too surprised to speak, he could barely understand how it was possible.  
  
Kevin Hunter now stood over Ihachi, golden energy flowing from her body into his outstretched palm. The instant that golden energy touched his hand it was corrupted, becoming a jet black that was absorbed into his body. He raised his other hand, and the last trickles of Drake's power left him, absorbed into the body of Kevin Hunter. "That was good of you to deal with the problem, to fix everything. I knew I could count on you idiots to do the job for me. Now all the soul energy I could possibly need is with me, and there's only one thing between me and the success of my mission."  
  
His gaze came to rest on Dalin, and suddenly the angel duelist understood completely. He understood the feeling he had gotten when he first met Kevin's eyes, the feeling of looking at something eerily familiar. He had seen those eyes before, but they had been a different color, they had belonged to a different person. Yet this was the Shadow Realm, and this was a creature of pure shadow. "Taichi...."

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Author's Notes: HA! Eat your heart out Kazuki Takahashi, that's a surprise! Booya! Hope everyone enjoyed the chapter, and now wait till next episode where things get wierder.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Ihachi: Instant Phase, Valkyrie Fridwulfa, Citadel of Endless Light, Reward of Discard, Blessings of Goddess, Valkyrie Granidor, Restoration, Faltering Life, Cloud With Silver Lining, Goddess of Birth, Valkyrie Goddess  
  
Drake: Power of Philosophy, Skilled Chaos Magician, Shot From the Dark, Justice of Thought, Sage of Everlasting Light, Union of Minds, Force of Dead, Protection of the Destined, Guardian Magician of the Night, Trap Reflector, Lariat of Flame, Absolute Control, Omegus-Warrior Demi-God, Wizard Mentor, Divine Warrior God-Omega  
  
Original Submitted Cards: Aurora Veil(Time Mage), Reginleif(Time Mage), Valkyrie Mist(TM), Valkyrie Rota(TM), Valkyrie Sigdrifa(TM), Valkyrie Hildr(TM), Disintao-Elder Mage(G.O.T Nick, whose card I slightly altered)  
  
Anime Series Cards: I used a lot. All Valkyries and Valkyrie related cards that I didn't list are from the anime, from KC Grand Prix. Other cards like Take One Chance and Mechanical Magic Mirror are also from the anime. Too many too list. So, that's all.


	36. Choir of Hell

Disclaimer: I don't own Yu-gi-oh! Of course I do own all the original characters specifically stated previously.  
  
Author's Note: I'm sure this will truly intrigue you. So read on and enjoy!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "There is no such thing as good, nor is there any such thing as evil. These are just concepts created by humanity. The only thing that really exists in this case are opinions of right and wrong. Consider the man who kills prostitutes becaues he believes their job to be evil and sinful. Then consider the courts that send him to life in prison for killing prostitutes because a jury decided that killing these women was evil and wrong. Both have completely opposite views of right and wrong, good and evil. Who is right and who is wrong in such a case? That, as I've been trying to say, is completely up to you." -Me  
  
Advertisement: 100 Years After Battle City by Aldea is today's advert. No, its not the most original name I'll agree with you there. Hoewver its got great characters, brilliant duels, cool storyline, so on and so forth. Definetely one of the top Yugioh stories out there. Read and enjoy! DO IT I TELL YOU! Oh, and remember one thing while reading. Any resemblance to any characters in Yu-gi-oh is purely partially intentionally on the part of the author. The names have been changed to protect the innocent, the guilty, and the slightly off-color. This story is like a fine wine, it only gets better with age, and I congratulate it on being over a year old. I tip my hat, doff my coat, and run as the police chase after me for indecent exposure. Siyonara!  
  
Chapter Thirty-Five: Choir of Hell  
  
"Taichi...." Dalin's words seemed to falter in the darkness, the true essence of their meaning being absorbed by the negativity of the air around them. If it even was air. In response to the utterance of this name, Kevin Hunter smiled, a cruel and wicked thing that was very familiar. It was the same smile that Taichi had always worn when he was doing something evil that he enjoyed.  
  
"In a manner of speaking, yes I am. At the moment I'm Kevin Hunter, so Taichi doesn't really fit me. That body is gone, just as was supposed to be. This is who I am now." Dalin locked eyes with the evil creature that was now Kevin Hunter. He could feel an enormous darkness residing within Kevin, a darkness so great he didn't think even Ammut who resided within him could devour it.  
  
"Who you are now? You are always the same thing, just a pathetic spirit of evil that twists human beings into doing what it wants. You are nothing, everything you once were is lost in the sands of time!" These words echoed like thunder, passing through the shadows in an instant, but remaining forever. Kevin Hunter tilted his head, listening to those echoes. He brought his head back to its natural angle, and then he grinned, a wide and malevolent thing that brought hatred to one's heart.  
  
"Hardly. You don't know a thing about who or what I am. Which is rather fitting isn't it? After all, you don't know a thing about who you are besides being the vessel of Ammut. That is why I will win, because unlike you I know the truth of myself." His grin fell and he turned away from Dalin, making a sweeping gesture with one hand. The shadows seemed to swirl like dust in the wind, creating eddies of dark power.   
  
Slowly a door opened. That was the best Dalin could do to describe it, for it was a thing that was wreathed in flame, in blood, in pure evil. This 'door' resonated with the essence of all evil, it screamed out with the agony of untold numbers of living beings. The door was suffering, it was sin, it was... "The Gates of the Dead. From here we pass onwards to the underworld....to Hell."  
  
When the door finally stopped, fully open, something happened. Like a blast of existence the sounds and feelings collided with Dalin. He staggered under the pressure of an infinite number of voices screaming for help, screaming in pain and suffering. Yet amongst that he could hear voices of darkness doing something strange. They were singing, singing a song that Dalin could recognize only in that it seemed to interpret all that suffering into not words but concentrated feelings. "What is that?"  
  
Kevin blinked and looked up and back to Dalin. He had already been more then halfway through the door, descending the steps when the other had spoken. He tilted his head to listen, and then smiled. Now he realized what Dalin was talking about, he had forgotten how people always made comment on it. Dalin was taking it better then most, usually people curled into a ball and sobbed upon hearing it.   
  
"It's the Choirs of Hell, singing their everlasting song. It has a nice beat to it, but I've always thought it could use a drum solo. Or at least I've thought that since they invented drums. Anyways, its not really important, it's just sort of background noise. Pleasant, but nothing to really think about." Dalin tried not to stare in shock at this comment. Pleasant? Only a creature as malevolent as this thing that was now Kevin Hunter could possibly believe the dark feelings issuing forth from that song were pleasant.  
  
"Sheesh, don't just sit there, we have to get going. I've got the place waiting for us, so we've got to head down now. If it were the full me then they wouldn't even think about canceling, but as it is I'm not really. So we have to get there before they decide to change the schedule. Anyways, its not like you've got anything to wait around here for." With that said he turned away again, and started his way down the stairs. Dalin stared after him for several seconds, and then he followed.  
  
The moment he passed through the doors the feelings became stronger, like a wave crashing down upon him. He almost felt that he was the one in pain. It wasn't that the feelings were being forced upon him, but so much agony from so many at the same time could be felt be even the least empathic person. "Its almost too much. Is this really Hell?"  
  
Kevin grinned, not even bothering to look back at Dalin. He threw his response over his shoulder as he walked on, now reaching the flat part of their travels. "Not quite, we've still got a little ways before we reach the full thing. See, you can tell from the sign up ahead, we've got one more door to go through and then the road to Hell is next." Dalin heard these words and focused his eyes on the door up ahead and the sign on it.  
  
They stopped in front of the door, and Dalin stared up at it. Etched upon the obsidian in what was almost certainly blood were familiar words that had always seemed to be just a joke to him. He had never thought it would actually be like this. Upon that sign it said, "Abandon Hope All Ye Who Enter..."   
  
Kevin Hunter placed his hand on the door, and waited patiently, stepping back to give the door room. The solid obsidian that seemed forged of the same stuff as the first door, only more concentrated, slid aside very slowly. Once it was out of the way he stepped through, and motioned Dalin onwards. "Everybody always thinks its really bad, and they always seem afraid of the guard. But really its no worse then the stuff that goes on up on Earth." He paused in passing to stroke the middle head of a giant three headed dog that stood beside the door. It panted in the heat, massive tongue lolling out to the side. It turned its left head to Dalin, and it seemed to grin smugly at him.  
  
They walked upon a simple stone street, yet it wasn't as simple as it seemed. The millions of individual stones seemed to have an inner glow, and they emanated positive feelings. Compared to what was coming from the inferno that awaited them, it was amazing. It was a sudden good amongst the bad, and he supposed that it was a form of torture in its own right. "What is this stuff?"  
  
His guide stopped for a moment and looked down at his feet. He shrugged his shoulders idly and continued walking, but he didn't neglect to give an explanation. "They're raw compilations. Basically that just means that they are focused combination essences. Lots of the better and more positive essences combined together into these stones and what they are." That explanation seemed enough for him, so he ceased speaking and continued walking.  
  
Dalin stopped walking and dropped into a kneeling position. He rested his hand against one of the stones and felt a rush of a something familiar. It was the sort of feeling that he was certain parents had whenever they did something for their children. He rose and started following Kevin again. "What exactly do they combine into?"  
  
Kevin smirked, not letting his happiness at being asked this question show. He had hoped Dalin would ask, because he loved saying it. The few times he had lead someone down this path it had always given him joy to answer the question, to feel the despair that rolled off his companion as they heard the truth. It worked best when put simply. "Good intentions."  
  
The angel duelist nodded as if this were the most natural thing in the world. It felt right, felt like that was as it should be. He had no knowledge of what Hell was really like, but he was beginning to get the picture. Hell was individual, he was almost certain of it. "What's Hell really like?"  
  
The demonic entity that now called itself Kevin Hunter was almost surprised by this. Never before in his existence had anyone successfully manage to come to the conclusion that led to such a question. None before him had ever realized it, not in the entire history of this places existence. "It isn't really a place, so I can't describe it. In reality I'd have to say that Hell is really just the focal point of the worst Essences. Hatred, Lust, Greed, every single Essence that makes up what humans call Evil. It changes for whoever enters, it's always very specific, but it seems to be going for the cliche with you. I guess Ammut confuses it."  
  
The muscular Thai-American felt that this explanation was the right one. Ammut was in fact a demon in its own right, a part of the process in determining those in the Underworld in the Egyptian pantheon. Ammut wasn't evil, nor was it good. Its presence within a human who had little memory of who he really was probably confused whatever force decided upon Hell's appearance. "How much farther?"  
  
Dalin didn't need Kevin to answer the question. The instant he stepped off of that last good intention he knew that they had reached Hell. A boiling inferno now surrounded them, the road that had lead the way was nowhere to be seen. Pits of lava, boiling oil baths, mountains where one would roll a stone up for all eternity. It was all here. "Bah! In the good old days they didn't need so much pomp to make an impression. It's all that idiot Dante's fault. He decided to make up a bunch of crap and then market it, and what do we get? A lot of idiots premature expectations."  
  
The tortures weren't really what mad this place bad, he was certain of that. After a million years of pushing a rock up a hill it probably didn't bother you at all, it probably started to feel right. What really made people suffer, what made them abandon hope, that was in the water so to speak. Or in the air. Kevin was right, every negative thing was all built up here, and you could feel it. He had to use sheer force of will to remain standing and not fall to his knees, sobbing.   
  
"Come on Dalin, its about time we got started. Space has no real meaning here, so this is as good a place as any. Well, here we go with pomp. Rise Up Spirits Of Hell, Rise Dark and Icky Things! It Comes Now, Upwards It Rises, Upwards Comes The Place Of Doom, Where Many A Man And Woman Have Met Their Fate In Combat As Nasty Gooey Red Demons Watched In Pleasure, Feeding Off Their Suffering! Come Mortal And Enter This Final Chamber, Where Death Awaits You From Various Pointy Objects!" If Kevin hadn't cracked a smile Dalin would have been certain that he was serious, but as it was he knew that this was all bullshit that he was doing because it amused him.  
  
The ground around them rumbled, well not ground really but that wasn't the point. Black rods shot up from the surface they stood upon, intertwining with what looked like the organs of some enormous creature. Together they all combined, surging into one thing, becoming what Dalin was painfully aware was an arena. A living arena. "Now, let the spectators come."  
  
Suddenly Dalin was inundated with every horrible thing he could think of. He felt as if there was never any chance of having any positive feeling again. The things that came and did this....they were just a presence, physical only by will alone. They were countless demons of the underworld, most of which were far less pleasant then the demons described in stories. "Get on your feet mortal, it's almost time to begin."  
  
Dalin had been unaware that he had dropped to one knee, but yet there he was. He forced himself into a standing position, focusing his own will and magic into a barrier to separate himself from the continuous bombardment of darkness. It was trying to consume him, to sweep him away by sheer force of mass. It was almost too much to handle, and perhaps it was too much to handle. "Is this....a duel?"  
  
Kevin nodded and then thrust his left arm forwards. What might be called a dark duel disk exploded outwards, forming upon his arm like a living thing. It was sweeping and much more organic looking then the DD2, and the far edges of it had protruding spikes. Dalin could faintly see two beady red eyes looking around from their spot at the deck holder. "Well, I've got my disk. Where's yours?"  
  
It took Dalin a moment to process this information, and he stared at his left arm. Where previously there had been a duel disk there was nothing. He could feel his cards as if they existed elsewhere, but he wasn't sure where. Slowly he tugged upon his magic, upon the positive emotions buried in his mind, and he gave the area where his duel disk had been a push.  
  
His duel disk was much the opposite of his opponents. It was pure white and seemed to be formed of angel feathers all flowing together. It was like a single small wing that extended outwards from his arm. There were no eyes, that was one thing to be happy about. There was no counter, and he looked around for where his life points would be tracked. "What next? Neither of us has a deck."  
  
Kevin sighed and rolled his eyes. Dalin watched as he made a pass with his right hand, and a deck materialized in his own disk. It was a fairly thick disk and Dalin was certain it contained many different cards. He couldn't expect the same strategy as he had used before, he always changed when you least expected it. "Just focus on the cards that should exist with you and they will appear. Only if they exist within the recesses of your mind as if they were right can they flow unto you."  
  
He did as he was told, and the deck formed in its slot, perfectly shuffled and ready. Shortly they would begin the duel, but there was still the trouble of counting life points. He started to speak but Kevin beat him to the punch, raising his arms above his head. He intoned his words in that harsh and somehow happy voice of his. "Now we rise up to do battle!" And so they did. Platforms appeared beneath their feet, things of living tissue that had barriers at the top of sharp spikes that angled outwards and inwards. Nothing got in, nothing got out.  
  
Across from him he could see the tissue of Kevin's platform distort. In the center of the platform knots of flesh rose up, cysts of pure darkness that Dalin could feel. These cysts formed into four numerals, showing that Kevin maintained eight thousand life points. He was certain that his own platform had numbers for his life points. "I see. I'm ready to do this. Ready to defeat you." (DLP: 8000)  
  
Kevin smirked and drew his opening hand, watching Dalin draw his own five cards. Then Kevin drew a sixth card, and the duel was truly on. "Defeat me? You can't defeat what you don't understand, and I understand you perfectly. You are going to lose, can't you tell? After all, the crowd is on my side!" Kevin was right, the demons were all chanting for him, chanting words that Dalin didn't recognize. What was worse, the singing of the choir was louder then ever. They were in the crowd. (KLP: 8000)  
  
"Let the final duel begin! Dark versus Light, Evil versus Good, Demons versus Angels. Let's have some fun!" With that spoken the duel was truly on. It would be their first and only battle, it would be the duel that determined the fate of the world. Yet inside Dalin knew that defeating Kevin or whatever he was wouldn't bring back those who had been lost. But it would stop the Essence of Destruction from being released, and that was what mattered....wasn't it?  
  
"Hmmm....oh I know what I'll do to start us off. I'll introduce you to a new rule of this Dark Game. In this game, like our duel disks, we must make each card work using force of will and our magic. Of course since my demons are native to this realm, it will be quite easy for me. Your angels are at an odds, so that will make it more difficult." He grinned, and his announcement was followed by cheers from the surrounding crowd of demons. Dalin grimaced, coming to understand that this duel would not be completely fair. He should have expected as much.  
  
"Now, lets give the boy a good example. I shall summon Demon Soldier(1900/1500)! Come forth my faithful warrior!" The demonic warrior rose up, literally. Like the platforms it flowed into existence, like tendrils of flesh worming together. It took several seconds of this before the completed purple demon warrior was finished. It stood strong, and drew its blade, raising it into the air. The demons cheered in response.  
  
Dalin had felt the minimal effort that Kevin put forth into summoning the Demon Soldier, and he knew based on the strength of the creature that it would have taken slightly more if it were not for the very place they resided in. Summoning a similar creature would undoubtably be more difficult for him. "Whatever methods you take, I shall still achieve victory. Bring on your demons, for I am ready."  
  
Kevin nodded, a sly smile sliding across his features as he glanced down at his hand again. He fiddled with the cards for a moment before selecting the cards he wanted and sliding them into their proper places. Two cards formed themselves in the same organic manner as the Demon Soldier had, but it took almost no energy at all. Obviously the effort came in activating cards, not setting. "I place these two cards face down. Now I dare you to attack, because your pathetic deck and its angels are nothing to me."  
  
The demons roared in response, and the choir belted out their hellish song with greater enthusiasm....if that was possible. Dalin kept his face clear of any emotion as he surveyed his opening hand, looking for options before his first draw. He needed to gain a quick advantage, but he had no monster strong enough to defeat the Demon Soldier. He had to hope for a good card. "First I draw."  
  
He pulled the card free and placed it amongst his other cards, then shifted them aside to get a look at it. The card was perfect for what he needed, it would give him just the boost necessary to defeat Demon Soldier and gain the advantage he wanted. "Now I will summon Hysteric Angel(1800/500)!" Dalin had been right, it required more power from him. He felt the essence of the card straining against Hell's very presence, and he forced his power upon the card, pushing as he had with his duel disk.  
  
In a burst of angel feathers the female angel was born. The swirling mass of feathers coalesced into the tall figure of his angel. She wore a school uniform, clutching books in one arm. Small dovish wings extended from her back, and she absent mindedly adjusted her glasses. Kevin took one look at his angel, and burst out laughing. "This is what you bring out to challenge my demon? How pathetic! Already she weakens!"  
  
Dalin's eyes dropped to the form of his angel, realizing suddenly that Kevin spoke the truth. She was shaking her head, trying to get rid of the constant pressure that was Hell itself. The everlasting hell song of the choir was getting to her as well. He had to reassure her with a flow of his power before she calmed herself. "She is not weak Kevin or whatever you might call yourself. Especially not after I add Cestus of Dagla to her, boosting her stats by five hundred points!"  
  
She dropped her books to the ground as Dalin put the effort into creating the two blades that she picked up as they appeared. These simply formed themselves out of a few feathers, and took much less energy then she had. Now he was ready with a monster of twenty-three hundred attack points. "Not only does it boost my monster's attack strength, but it also gives me any life points of damage I do to you. Now, Hysteric Angel will cut your Demon Soldier down to size!"  
  
She swept across the field with a single sweep of her wings, swinging the blades at the Demon Soldier in an unpracticed manner. The demon used his blade to block her first stroke, knocking her off balance. The soldier took this opportunity to laugh at his opponent, who seized the moment and slid her blade across his belly, opening him up and pouring his innards onto the ground. "My angel is victorious." (KLP: 7600, DLP: 8400)  
  
"Oh yes, it is isn't it? But I have to thank you, for you have given me a special opportunity by destroying my demon. I can now pay one thousand life points to activate Token of Black Hearts, bringing forth four Black Heart tokens!" His life points took a dip, and four of the most disgusting things Dalin had ever seen erupted from the ground, forming almost instantly. They were giant hearts, which pumped gallons of black ichor onto the ground. Their attack was minimal, but Dalin had a bad feeling about them. (KLP: 6600)  
  
"But wait, there's more! You see, demon blood is very dangerous. It's a deadly poison to any who drink it, save demons who are immune to its effect. However, any human who succeeds in withstanding the poison gains great power, and gains an extended lifetime." As he spoke, Kevin made a gesture with his hand like a puppet master pulling on some strings. The fallen Demon Soldier rose up off the ground and into Kevin's outstretched hand. He gripped the demon by the back of its neck, holding it there, limply.  
  
"And by drinking the blood of my fallen demons, not only will I gain more power for the rest of the duel, but I will also gain more life...more life points that is. And I can drink their blood so long as you kill them in battle, and I have this card active. Demon Blood!" Kevin's second trap flipped up, the image of a human kneeling and drinking from the wrist of Dark Ruler Hades quite clear on it. Dalin grimaced, realizing that Kevin was about to undo almost all the damage done to him.  
  
Kevin pulled the Demon Soldier's neck back, and then dropped his head to the demon's neck. The crowd let out a howling cheer as he ripped its jugular out with one hand, letting the blood flow freely. He placed his mouth against the ripped throat and gulped down the gushing blood, restoring his power. Dalin felt the waves of power flowing into his opponent, and he knew that he was losing any advantage he had gained. (KLP: 7550)  
  
"Now I am stronger then ever, and you, you weaken with every moment! No matter how small an amount it is, you will still grow weaker and weaker while I grow stronger and stronger. You've already lost this duel, and there's not a thing you can do about it." His lips were stained by the black blood of his faithful and now fallen demon. He wiped it away with one hand, then casually licked his fingers clean of all that blood, a satisfied smile playing across his face as he did so.   
  
"You haven't won this duel Kevin, and you won't! I finish my turn by setting a single card face down. Take your turn, it won't matter to me. I will gain power as my life points grow, and you know my deck can accomplish that. This duel is more even then you think." Kevin let out an exaggerated yawn, and the demon crowd let out a loud and equally false laugh. Dalin's card formed from the drop of a feather, ready to be used at a moments notice. The duel had truly begun, and they were more even then either would admit.  
  
Kevin drew another card into his hand, and then he started smiling. Everything was prepared for him, he had his methods all set out before him. No matter what Dalin thought, it was he who held the true advantage, and he would now prove it. "You know Dalin, there are many different types of demons. Some fight, some use magic, some are simply for physical labor. The deadliest ones though, they stay behind the scenes and control others, even other demons." As he spoke he was fingering the card he had just drawn, obviously happy about it.  
  
"I just so happen to have a demon in my hand that is exactly like that. It's a bit costly to summon, but well worth it over all. Particularly in this moment. Now I get to show the strength of manipulation, and how much power it takes to summon a high level monster. I sacrifice two Black Heart tokens to summon Demon Manipulator(1400/1400)!" The two middle giant hearts exploded, sending more black gore pouring onto the ground. But energy pulsed within that gore...and Dalin knew danger when he saw it.  
  
The Demon Manipulator formed itself, revealing a red skinned demon with long horns extending from the back of its head. It work a long flowing black robe, and in one arm it held a chain of human skulls. A smirk similar to Kevin's rose on its lips. "And now that he's been revealed, he goes to work. And like any good manipulator, he lets his lackys do the work. So say goodbye to Demon Manipulator."  
  
As quickly as he had appeared, the Demon Manipulator vanished. Kevin picked the card up off his duel disk and then placed it into his deck. Next he ejected the deck and shuffled it. "From behind the scenes Demon Manipulator will do his work. He goes back into my deck face up, and if I draw him he gets special summon. Of course, if he's special summoned something wonderful happens, but more on that later. Right now, I want to introduce you to his minions." Three cards ejected from Kevin's deck and he grabbed them each.  
  
"The Demon Manipulator is skilled in the art of demon puppetry, so his servants are of course puppets, demon puppets, controlled through strands of his own hair in fact. Here come the three Kugutsu(1800/1800)!" Kevin slapped the three cards onto his disk, and Dalin watched them form in all their glory. They were twisted version of the original manipulator, dark tendrils emerging from within the robes. They looked deadly, but their strength was too little to defeat Hysteric Angel at its current level.  
  
"Oh? Do you think that Hysteric Angel is stronger? I'm sorry, but that's a miscalculation. You see, when a Black Heart token is destroyed I can increase any monster's strength by three hundred. So I can increase the attack power of the middle Kugutsu by six hundred, making it more powerful then your angel." As he spoke the Kugutsu swept is tendrils out and scooped up gobs of the leftover hearts. The tendrils curled back up and under the robe, and Dalin could feel the power of the creature rise.   
  
"The nifty thing about Kugutsu is that they are mirrors of each other. Whatever the attack strength of one is, well then that's what the attack strength of the others is. That means that my other two also gain six hundred attack and defense points. And its all thanks to you and my Demon Manipulator!" A dark line of energy shimmered between the three creatures, and the power of the other two shot up to equal that of the middle Kugutsu. Now he had three monsters of twenty-four hundred attack strength.  
  
"Now my first Kugutsu will crush your puny angel with its mighty grip! Squeeze the life out of her!" The demon puppet's tendrils exploded from under its cloak, shooting out and wrapping around the Hysteric Angel before she could even put up a defense. The tendrils squeezed and the angel's eyes bulged. It took several seconds before she stopped struggling, and the Kugutsu dropped her. (DLP: 8300)  
  
"The second Kugutsu will attack directly!" Its tendrils shot out towards Dalin, but he was ready for it. He raised one arm and focused his energy into his placed card, certain he could make it work. It rose up, revealing its power. Kevin's laughter was cut off in mid-stream as the tendrils struck a barrier of light that were between it and Dalin's life points.  
  
"Drain Shield stops your attack and increases my life points, and my own energy levels!" The energy flowed back into him and he felt the pressure of Hell lift from him momentarily as his energy was boosted. It didn't take long before the pressure was back, but he felt much better then he had. His life points were also better off, but he knew it wouldn't last much longer. (DLP: 10700)  
  
"Very well, the last Kugutsu will attack you directly!" There was no barrier to stop the tendrils this time, and he was forced to raise his own energy barrier, deflecting the tendrils if only barely. The force of the strike against his barrier shoved him nearly into the spikes behind him. Now he knew their purpose. If one was unable to guard oneself against an attack, then it would mean instant death. Loss by lack of power. Kevin wasn't playing around. (DLP: 8300)  
  
"Your Drain Shield helped you, but not by much. I can undo your strategy quite easily, and believe me...I will. For the moment I can't continue attacking, so I guess I'll just set a card face down. Now its up to you to make a move. Have fun." The card formed itself from the ground, and Kevin's turn was up. The demons, Kevin, and Dalin all knew that despite Dalin's higher life points, it was Kevin who held the advantage.  
  
Dalin added another card to his hand, perusing it carefully. He kept himself from reacting quite well, but somehow Kevin knew that he had drawn something good, because Kevin smirked at that exact moment. However, he couldn't possibly known that the power Dalin held was the power of god. "I feel the strength you have now Dalin. Bring it before me if you can, and I will defeat the power of god as I have before in the past."  
  
Dalin couldn't help the widening of his eyes. His mental defenses were complete, they were perfect...yet somehow Kevin knew what he had. He hadn't felt a mental invasion, so perhaps Kevin merely senses the great power of his god card. He grimaced and selected his cards. "I set a monster and one card face down. End turn."  
  
The demons booed his move, and he ignored them. It didn't matter what a bunch of foul creatures thought of him going on the defensive, he knew that it was the most strategic path at the moment. Kevin held the power advantage, so he would have to play defense for the moment until he could bring out the great power of god. That would be his best path to victory, the gods would grant him success.  
  
Kevin rubbed his chin after drawing his card. He had something quite useful...but now he just had to decide what he would do with it. Leave it for later, or get it on the field now? Oh well, he could decide that after he made his attack. "I attack with a Kugutsu!" The tendrils of the demon puppet shot straight at Dalin's set monster, intent on bringing about its complete and total destruction.   
  
"Reveal trap, Energy Absorption! I will now negate your attack, end the battle phase, and increase my life points by half of your Kugutsu's attack strength. And since you have so kindly raised your Kugutsu to such a great power, I will become greater because of it." The attack struck the barrier, and lines of red light coruscated together, then plunged backwards and into Dalin's body. He started smiling as the glow of gathering energy surrounded him. In moments his life points would be much higher.  
  
"I said it before, you strategies will fail against mine. After all, it only takes a single card to unravel your strategy. Now I bet you're wondering how a single card can do all that, but I'm about to show you. It's called Bad Reaction To Shimochi!" Taichi's set card from the previous turn flipped up and started glowing. Then things started to change.  
  
Dalin's eyes widened as the positive energies flowing around him started to alter. A roaring red hatred flooded through his veins, tainting his body. It was not his hate, nor was it focused at all. It was merely the opposite of the loving caress of energy that he had felt moments before. "Stop! Get out!" He raged at the hatred with his own positive energies, unaware that by raging he was only making things worse.  
  
"How utterly pathetic. The hateful energies that were converted from your Energy Absorption will make you feel the pain that should have been there. In fact, you'll lose exactly the same amount of life points as you should have gained. Such is the power of Bad Reaction To Shimochi, and so will it continue to be for as long as its on the field!" His laughter ripped a chunk of Dalin's confidence away as through a mist of hatred he saw the major strategy of his deck fall apart right in front of his eyes. There wasn't anything he could do to stop it right now. (DLP: 7100)  
  
Suddenly Dalin's thoughts feel upon those who had fallen before him. The strongest duelists in the world were all gone, and now all that stood between this sickening creature and the release of a force that would destroy the universe....was him. He would never defeat Kevin if he held such hatred in his heart, so he had to banish it. He pulled himself into a little defensive bubble within his own mind, and called upon all the positive thoughts and feelings that he could find.  
  
Kevin watched in amusement as Dalin drew in upon himself, trying to fight the rising tide of hatred. If he succeeded then he'd be able to continue the duel successfully, however even if he succeeded he would be finished. It wasn't just Kevin's strategies that would do it, it was the fact that fighting off the hatred would take precious energy that Dalin couldn't afford to waste. "Try as hard as you can, it won't accomplish a thing. Victory has already been guaranteed to me."  
  
He found the source of that hatred, a rolling red mass of fire and darkness. Pulling together the positive blue glow that he had found he moved with it. He struck with it like a scalpel, surgically attacking the places where the beast of hatred was part of him. Piece by piece it fell away, and at last with one final attack it left him, exiting his body. It was then reabsorbed by Hell. Dalin's knees nearly buckled, but then he focused his energy back to where it belonged. "Victory is never guaranteed to anyone. Not to you and not to me. So finish your turn."  
  
"Very philosophical of you....almost. I suppose it isn't truly guaranteed, but it's the closest thing to it. You see, the dark will always devour the light because that is what it's supposed to do. Previously the light has been victorious and therefore the Essence of Balance decrees that it is darkness that will now succeed. When it does, Destruction will be released and all things will come to an end. I place one card face down, then end my turn." The card grew into its place on the field, and Kevin's turn was finished. He barely noticed the few demons in the crowd who started considering the end of their own existence.  
  
Dalin drew his next card and then turned his gaze on Kevin. "I don't understand. If you succeed in releasing the Essence of Destruction, then you too will be destroyed. There won't be anything left in the Universe at all, there won't even be a Universe at all. So why? Explain that to me." Now all eyes in the stadium were on Kevin, but through it all the choir didn't stop singing.  
  
"To answer that question I'd have to reveal exactly who or what I am. Since you didn't ask that I won't answer. Suffice it to say that what I am is actually looking forward to the moment when it ceases to exist. Besides, there will be something left. The Essences. Where there was nothing, something will rise. There is after all, an Essence of Creation. The Universe will be born again." Curious glances flew between demon's. Demons who thought such a thing was the reason of their existence, and others who didn't want to cease to exist, even if everything would start again.  
  
"I see. In that case I'll wait before asking the necessary question. I don't want to keep the crowd waiting, nor you. So I will activate the Pot of Greed." He deposited the card into the cemetery, and then he drew the top two cards off his deck. He looked them over and kept his face clear of any reaction as he discovered for the second time in this duel, the power of God was with him.  
  
"Again? I wonder which God you now hold in your hand. That's two of three, but do you think you can succeed in summoning them. Do you think it even matters?" Dalin's eyes connected with his opponent's, and the two duelists stared past the outer essence and in to what hid itself. The two different darkness that resided within these piles of flesh and bone. Yet despite the guiding force within him, Dalin felt that this duel was his, and not the Devourer's.  
  
"You will discover the power of my Gods when the time is right. For the moment I can't summon either, so I'll have to wait and so will you. But I have a card that will allow me to wait. Activate Swords of Revealing Light!" As he intoned these words, glowing golden swords fell from the sky, crashing down around the pedestal that Kevin stood upon. His opponent rolled his eyes as they blocked his way.  
  
The jeers of the crowd meant nothing to Dalin, but the singing of the choir of Hell was becoming more strident, more painful to hear. Every time he did something they didn't like, they started singing louder and with more feeling. It was almost a form of agony to hear those voices singing in his head, to feel those emotions washing over him. Kevin just smiled. "It would appear the crowd doesn't approve. But don't worry, I understand you're move and the strategy behind it. You want to summon God? Well go ahead, I'll just wait for it."  
  
Dalin nodded in acceptance of these words. Kevin was confident in the strength of his various strategies, confident that he could defeat the Gods. Dalin would allow him that confidence for the moment, because it would only make it that much sweeter when he used the Gods to crush Kevin completely. For now, he waited. "End turn."  
  
Kevin added another card to his hand, giving him three cards that he could use. He held the card up in front of his eyes and smirked when he saw its familiar form. The demons of the crowd would certainly be satisfied, and he could easily use this card to his advantage. Dalin wouldn't have any idea what hit him. "I sacrifice a Black Heart token for Dark Ruler Hades(2450/1600)!"  
  
The heart shattered, slopping black blood all over the ground. Emerging from within it was the tall and powerful form of the blue skinned demon who ruled the realm of the Underworld. This was Dark Ruler Hades in all his glory, a devilish monster with great power. Kevin had yet another strong monster to use now. "Of course, I believe its time to grant my Kugutsu further power."  
  
The Kugutsu closest to the recently shattered Black Heart token unfurled its tendrils, sending them whipping down across the ground. It scooped up as much of the blood and gore and various little chunks that it could. Then it rolled its tendrils back up and under its cloak, consuming them in whatever way it had. "Now the power of my Kugutsu increases by another set of three hundred attack and defense!"  
  
A black aura surrounded the three demon puppets for those several seconds as they absorbed that added energy. Dalin could sense the darkness within them grow as their power did, rising to a deadly twenty-seven hundred attack and defense strength. While this was certainly impressive, it meant nothing against the Gods. "With my Kugutsu growing stronger in each moment, I don't believe I have anything to worry about."  
  
Kevin casually used one of his fingers to poke at one of the glowing green swords. There was a flare of light, and he pulled his finger back. He showed it to Dalin who was surprised to see the charred mass of reddened flesh that had once been the front part of Kevin's index finger. Yet Kevin hadn't reacted at all to what must have been a good deal of pain. "This is why I will win. Allow me to truly explain."  
  
Slowly he trailed his tongue down his wounded finger, sticky saliva falling upon it. After a few moments of this he inserted the finger into his mouth and sucked on it, grinning as he did so. Soon he pulled it out and revealed it to Dalin, showing off the pink new flesh of his finger. "While every move you make and every moment you are here is deadly to you, I can't be harmed. Pain is pleasure to me. Injury is nothing. I can repair this body with the merest thought, and it won't take any energy either."  
  
To demonstrate his point further he shoved his entire right arm straight through the closest sword. The sword flared up, its energies reacting to the negative presence. There was a crackling as it fought against his dark energies, and then smoke curled up from the now dull and gray blade. The blade crumbled into dust, revealing Kevin's scorched and ruined arm. "Oh the pain, the pain. You see, it's nothing to me. It also proves the contempt I have for your cards. In this realm I could crush them with my own power. With the blink of my eye I could destroy the swords and then destroy you with my monsters."  
  
He smirked and licked his lips as though relishing the thought of killing Dalin off. Or perhaps he was just relishing the thought of the end of all things for whatever reason he relished such a thought. Then he raised his arm and watched it as the burnt flesh faded and was replaced by new flesh as quickly as it had been destroyed. "Destruction will always lead to Creation, no matter what the situation. So really you shouldn't fear Destruction, you should embrace it."  
  
"Embracing Destruction would mean releasing all thoughts of life and love, and every other thing worth existing for. It would mean sacrificing the infinite lives that exist, and the infinite possible lives that are still out there in some form of limbo. To embrace Destruction is to embrace the Beast of Defeat." Dalin's words echoed throughout the stadium and suddenly there was silence save for the singing of the Choir of Hell.   
  
Then Kevin started laughing, filling all of Hell with the hateful sound. "The Beast of Defeat? What an idiotic sentiment, as are life and love. You who have never known true suffering will never understand that embracing Destruction is embracing the natural course of things. All life ends! All life has a beginning as well, and this Universe cannot have a beginning without that end! I embrace Destruction and I will allow the natural course of life to be complete in a way the Gods wouldn't allow long ago!"   
  
Dalin shook his head, denying such a thing. He didn't know everything that Kevin did, but he knew enough about life to know that there were missing pieces to what the creature was saying. "The Gods did exactly what living things do, they feared the end of their lives and fought against it. For some reason they managed to succeed, and from then on all living things have attempted to prolong their lives for as long as possible. Though all things come to an end, it must be natural, and not forced. One creature such as yourself cannot decide when the process will begin."   
  
"You damned fool! Every living thing no matter how important or unimportant is just a tool in the end. Even what I am. This is the course that my existence now follows, therefore it wasn't I who decided when the process would begin, it was something much greater. It was the Essences. My creation eventually leads to the destruction of the Universe. Its simple math. It is my DESTINY!" The rage was painted clearly upon his features, and Dalin could only wonder what thing had happened in this creature's past to give it such hatred of existence. Why would it want to end its own life and all others?   
  
"I sense that there is something deeper then what you say, something more real than these false words about destiny and nature. I think those are just excuses for you. I don't yet know what your reasons are, but I believe that before this duel is over I will learn. For now I must ask, is your turn finished?" As he spoke the words the crowd finally remembered that they were here for entertainment, not for a philosophical debate. They shook of the lethargy and started their roaring and cheer and booing again.   
  
"Yes, I'm finished. Take your turn and don't get your hopes up. I don't reveal anymore then I intend to." Dalin gave him a slight inclination of the head, revealing that for the moment he would accept these words. Yet he knew that they weren't true, for he was certain that Kevin hadn't intended to say as much as he just had. Perhaps having human form affected him more then he thought.  
  
Dalin drew another card into his hand, and glanced down at it. He sighed and selected that card and placed it upon his disk. He focused his energy and watched as the horizontal form of the card was arranged by the flow of angel wings. "I set one monster in defense mode. That's all I can do." The demons had a good laugh at his expense, aware that he was running away. Of course, they weren't considering that he was preparing to unleash the Gods, because to them defense was just a form of cowardice, no matter the intent.  
  
Kevin followed Dalin's example and started his turn in complete silence. Yet again he was rewarded with a monster with which he could make good use. He placed it upon his duel disk and focused his energies into it, watching as it started to appear. "I'll sacrifice the final Black Heart token in order to summon Dark Baltar the Terrible(2000/1000)!" The final token exploded.  
  
The assistant of Dark Ruler Hades was formed from that mass, his entrails taking shape and a shell forming around him. Finally the powerful and tall blue demon was on the field, wiping off the goo that was on his skin from the shattering of the black heart. It let out a loud roar, and then the other demons cheered for it. "Since the last of the tokens was destroyed I can transfer that last bit of power to my Kugutsu, making them easily as powerful as a Blue Eyes White Dragon."  
  
The Kugutsu scooped up the last of the gore and consumed it, granting them each a further three hundred points to each stat. Now they sat at a very deadly three thousand attack and defense points, enough to make most monsters cower and duck for cover. Dalin didn't even flinch as they reached this point of power. He knew that the Gods had greater strength. "Make them as powerful as you like, it won't matter whatsoever."  
  
"Is that so? Well we'll see won't we? After all, you've got two monsters on the field, so you only need one more to complete the needed set to summon God. I've got one more turn where I can't attack, so I guess this means you will get to summon God. But obviously you're not thinking of something. Oh well, we'll just have to wait for that slow brain of yours to catch up. End turn!" The demons were as confused as Dalin was. None had any idea what Kevin could have meant.  
  
Dalin drew his needed card and looked over his hand. His eyes fell upon the gods and he contemplated them. Certainly they were powerful, but what about them could he be missing? What was it that Kevin meant? Could he just be trying to make some sort of bluff? Shaking off such thoughts, Dalin made his move. "I'll set a single card face down, following by a monster in defense mode."  
  
The two cards appeared, brought about by the usage of Dalin's own energy. The third and final monster was set next to the other two, giving him the needed three for sacrifice. In his next turn he could summon God, and then he would show Kevin true power. He would crush Kevin's strategy under the foot of his Gods. "That is all. My turn is now over."  
  
The dark duelist merely glanced at his card and then at the field. He smirked a little, and then turned his gaze back to Dalin. The angel duelist met his gaze easily and unflinching. "You still don't understand do you? You don't get the strength involved at all." Dalin's confusion was evident, so Kevin took it upon himself to start explaining, to show exactly how hopeless everything was.  
  
"It's really rather simple. It takes energy to summon monsters and to activate cards. The strongest the monster the more energy it takes. What the Hell is stronger then a god card?" The implication struck Dalin like a nail between the eyes. He hadn't even considered that before this moment. The Gods were tremendously powerful, and they took energy to summon even under normal circumstances, if not an enormous amount.  
  
Here in this place and under these rules it would take a huge amount of power to summon and maintain a god. He wouldn't have to worry about staving the power of Hell off his gods, but he did have to worry about summoning them in the first place. He had no idea if he had the needed strength to do so without losing a critical amount of energy. "You see it now don't you? Now you know how hopeless it is! You can't even summon the gods, and next turn I'm free to attack!"  
  
The choir of Hell sang its hellish song, the demons cheered for Kevin, and Kevin laughed that evil laugh of his. He had proved just as he wanted to that Dalin stood no chance against him, for the one chance Dalin might have had to claim victory was now out of reach. It was hopeless....or so Kevin thought. "Bow and beg and I just might let you live for a few moments longer. Go ahead Dalin, I'll certainly enjoy it."  
  
Dalin remained strong despite these words, despite the taunts, despite the crushing pressure of Hell. He was the untouchable, the indefatigable. He would not lose this duel, he could not for the very fate of the Universe itself was riding upon it. The lives of all beings now and evermore were all hinging upon his success in this duel. Should he lose, all things would come to an end. "I bow to noone. And I swear that I will succeed by the power of the Gods. This is my promise, this is my determination. This is the fate that I promise for you!"  
  
Kevin let out an exaggerated yawn, and the demons chuckled just as they had the last time he did so. He smirked at Dalin, and waved with his cards, gesturing idly across the field. "Even should you manage to summon a God and keep it in play, it won't matter. My strategy is just too great to be defeated. End turn." With those words he moved the turn to Dalin, who would now display whether or not he had what it took to summon God and fulfill his promise.  
  
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Author's Note: There it is, the first chapter of the duel between Kevin and Dalin. You see Paul, I told you that you'd never see Dalin versus Taichi, and this is why. Hahahahahahahhahahahahaa! Anyways, I hope you all enjoy. The funny thing? This chapter was only eleven turns of a much longer duel. MWUAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHHA!!!!  
  
Original Cards  
  
Kevin: Token of Black Hearts, Demon Blood, Demon Manipulator, Kugutsu  
  
Dalin: Energy Absorption 


	37. Gates of the Dead

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh.  
  
Author's Note: The second part of Final Duel of this story commences, and Dalin will have to learn if he has the strength needed to defeat Kevin...or die trying. Read, enjoy, then review!  
  
Quote of the Chapter: "Hell is other people." -Source Unknown  
  
Advert of the Chapter: Today I'm advertising Dark Dragon League. This is a story written by the member of a dueling league called the Dark Dragon League which was started by Chuck ZFB and is currently run by me. The author, GearfriedIronAngel has taken already existing people and made them into characters in his story, which includes cool duels, monster battles, and hidden secrets. Check it out and enjoy, and remember, the names have not necessarily been changed to protect the innocent, so don't go accusing people. Its not their fault....probably.   
  
Chapter Thirty-Six: Gates of the Dead  
  
Drake's feet dragged as he tried to make his way to the door. Even with Kirani and Serenity helping him stand it was difficult to walk, because he was bigger and heavier then the two of them. The door was a concentration of evil, a road to Hell itself. Dalin was in there, most likely fighting for all of them at that very moment. They had to get in.  
  
"The Gates of the Dead....I've always wondered what they would look like. When I died I didn't see anything, so I wonder just how real this is. Are you two afraid?" He looked between both of them, watching their movements, watching their eyes. They didn't speak, they just shook their heads. He could see the stark terror in their eyes, could feel their fear through his item. The question had been a formality.   
  
"You don't have to come with me. I know that this will be truly terrible, and I can't ask either of you to follow me in there." He knew, even as he spoke, just as he knew that they were afraid. They were going to come with him, and there was no amount of arguing that could stop them. Beneath that fear was a fierce determination to remain at his side, and to help Dalin. They knew what was at stake as well as he did.   
  
"Dalin needs our support, he needs us to keep that cheater from pulling some kind of stunt." Serenity clenched her fist in emphasis, her words underlined by the intense feeling of determination. In that moment he reached out to her through his Millennium Disc and gave her a bit of his courage, to stave off the all consuming terror that she was feeling.  
  
Kirani didn't speak immediately. Instead she reached out and took hold of the door. It creaked open, and then it stopped. All three of them were on the ground in an instant, the feelings had been too sudden. It was the utter agony of all those who existed in Hell. It was the concentration of every bad thing ever to happen in the history of the Universe.   
  
Drake reached within himself and pulled on the little bit of power he had recovered. He pushed it through the Disc and linked the three of them, bolstering each other from the terrible feelings that were coming through that door. Now they just had to continue on their way. "There's a saying that Hell is other people. I think....I think in some ways that just might be true."  
  
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Almost a mile away and also no distance away was a giant coliseum forged from the darkness of Hell itself and the flesh of the fallen. Within that coliseum there was a crowd of hundreds of thousands of demons. Their cries of hatred and anger, happiness at pain and irritation at joy could all be heard.   
  
Sounding over the cries of these demons was a lilting song. Tones of utter despair intoned by the invisible choir that was the essence of every ounce of agony in Hell. The Choir of Hell's song was not loud, but it could still be heard no matter how loud everything else got.   
  
The focus of all of these demons within this coliseum were a pair of what appeared to be humans. Yet neither was entirely human, for within each one there was an ancient spirit of some kind of demon. Within the tall, muscular blonde man there resided the spirit of Ammut, the Devourer of Souls. A demon who was hated by other demons.  
  
Within the body of Kevin Hunter, an average human duelist, there was something sinister. What this spirit was it was not known, but its goal was all that mattered. It wished to bring about the release of the Essence of Destruction thereby ending the Universe. Its reasons were unknown, but it was truly determined.   
  
At the moment the turn was that of the taller duelist, Dalin Sumatin, who had a single card face down and three monsters on the field. He had two cards in his hand, both of which were Gods. He was about to draw his next card. His one hope in this duel lay in summoning the Gods, however the energy required to summon and maintain them might be too much for him.   
  
His opponent, Kevin Hunter, has three Kugutsu, demon puppets summoned by the effect of the Demon Manipulator. Each of these three monsters has three thousand attack and defense points, making them formidable foes. A Dark Ruler Hades is also on his field, along with a Dark Baltar the Terrible. Bad Reaction to Shimochi, a permanent trap, has turned Dalin's life point gaining strategy against him. Kevin also holds one card in secret, face down on the field. His hand consists of three cards.  
  
Dalin took a deep breath and drew another card into his hand, bringing him up to three cards. As soon as he drew the green swords that surrounded Kevin started to fade, unsealing him. Now in his next turn he would be able to attack with all five of his monsters. If Dalin was to defeat him, he would have to unleash the power of God in this turn.  
  
He had one thing to do first, before he attempted to summon God. He just had to hope that Kevin couldn't counter it. "I'll begin my turn by activating Heavenly Array of Light! By discarding one light type monster from my hand I can destroy any card on the field. I choose to destroy Bad Reaction to Shimochi!" He took his newly drawn card, an Atom Firefly, and shoved it into his cemetery slot.  
  
His face down card lifted up, revealing an angel firing a bow that shot an arrow of light. The little green spherical angel emerged from the card and drew back on the bowstring. It let loose the arrow, sending the glowing thing of light hurtling at Kevin's trap card. The arrow pierced through it, and it shattered into tiny little pieces.  
  
"Congratulations Dalin, you succeeded in destroying the card that twists your strategy. Now I'll see if I can destroy any more of your strategies. Reveal Demon Catapult!" His face down card flipped up, and from it emerged the a catapult formed of rotting corpses and the skulls of fallen victims. By using its effect Kevin could sacrifice one of his demons to send a number of cards in Kevin's hand or deck to the cemetery equal to the level of the demon he sacrificed.  
  
"Let's get busy. Hades, set yourself one the catapult and launch yourself to destroy the top six cards on his deck!" The blue ruler of Hell situated himself into launch position. Then he hurled a ball of fire at what was the trigger. The ball of flame activated the catapult, and Hades was sent hurtling towards Dalin. This impact would be impressive.  
  
The large figure of the demon ruler was coming straight at the angel duelist. In seconds it would impact. He could raise a barrier of his energy to protect himself and possibly run low on the needed power to summon a God, or he could let it impact and potentially be thrown into the spikes behind him, thereby ending his life and the duel. Not much in the way of a choice.   
  
Moments before it struck Dalin came upon a third option which was much better then the other two. He ducked. Dark Ruler Hades went sailing over his head, screaming at the top of its lungs. Dalin stood once again, and watched in fascination as Hades crashed into the crowd. Demons fell upon him instantly. "Well, that was certainly close."  
  
"That's just unfair. Who said you could duck?" Dalin raised an eyebrow and looked back at his opponent who was pouting like a little kid who was deprived of a special treat. As quickly as that look appeared, it was gone and replaced by the evil grin that had once been associated with Taichi Nobuki and was now associated with Kevin Hunter. Dalin just shook his head in exasperation.  
  
It was now or never. There were no more face down cards to change the situation, no way to alter anything. He grimaced and deposited his six cards into the grave, knowing that Kevin had gone after his deck because he was confident that Dalin couldn't summon the Gods. Either that or he had some other motive in mind. "Here we go. I tribute my three face down monsters in order to summon the mighty Obelisk the Tormentor(4000/4000)!"   
  
The three set monsters vanished in a blaze of light, shooting up into the sky and swirling around each other. Dalin could feel the power rising off the card he held out as he put forth the effort to summon it. The three balls of light that had once been monsters converged together, and Dalin slammed the card down onto his angelic duel disk.  
  
An explosion of power flowed from it, nearly knocking Dalin backwards into the spikes behind him. He continued to focus his energy and his positive emotions upon summoning Obelisk. The presence of Hell was fighting him, trying to keep him from summoning the mighty monster. Kevin was, as was usual, laughing. "You see! You lack the strength! You're just another pathetic mortal!"  
  
The card was already on the duel disk, now he just had to summon it. Pulling on everything that he was he extended his right hand forwards, palm outstretched. This was the hand that was bejeweled by the Icon of the Devourer, the item that was wielded by the servant of Osiris. The god he was to summon wasn't Osiris, but he still needed that power. "Great Lord of the Dead, Great Osiris, grant me the power I need!"  
  
As he spoke this words he felt something moving within him, felt something reach out and touch him. He recoiled instinctively, for the presence felt like Death itself. As soon as he relaxed he discovered that the presence reaching out to him was that of Ammut. It was offering its own power to help him in this mission, for though it was a demon that devoured souls, it did not wish to die, and its purpose was to prevent the release of the Essence of Destruction.  
  
"OBELISK, I SUMMON YOU! COME FORTH!" His eyes had fallen shut as he focused on the inner presence that was Ammut. Now they shot open, revealing eyes that were pure silver, glowing with an intense inner power. The eyes on the four-fingered ring on his right hand sprang open, and the full power was unleashed.   
  
Kevin's eyes widened as Dalin pulled drew upon Ammut, reaching a level of power that the other demonic creature hadn't believed Dalin was capable of. He slowly settled down, his mouth shifting into a sneer of disgust. "So the mortal finally draws upon Ammut. Poor fool doesn't realize that if he tries to do this for very long during this duel, Ammut will forcibly devour his soul."   
  
The glowing light coalesced and began to take shape. The demons in the crowd had fallen silent, awed by the power Dalin was displaying and by the power of the creature that he was summoning. It formed before them, a towering blue titan of power. Its massive hands clenched into tight fists, and its wings extended out to full length behind it. Its mouth set into the perpetual visage of terror. "Obelisk....has been summoned. Thank you Ammut, thank you."  
  
Dalin slowly released his connection with the demon, aware that such a great amount of power could do to him what it had done to Drake, or what it had done to Ihachi. Drake had been unprepared for such a large amount of energy and it had nearly killed him. Ihachi had....well she had become addicted to power. Once the energy had faded, he knew that he was ready to continue this duel, stronger then ever.  
  
"I have done what you thought I could not, and now my God towers above your puny creatures, ready to smite them with its awesome powers. So go forth Obelisk and crush whichever of these paltry foes that you so choose." Obelisk's large and beady eyes surveyed the four lesser monsters arrayed beneath him. They were all so very tiny, they couldn't possibly be threats to his greatness. But a few were stronger then the others and they would be his first goal. His eyes settled upon the middle Kugutsu.  
  
"God Hand Crusher!" Obelisk's mighty fist descended, like a meteor heading towards the impact point. The Kugutsu saw the blue meteor heading towards it and reacted as any would in such a situation. He turned to run, its tendrils reaching to grab hold of whatever it could find to help it pull itself away. Like so many before it, it wasn't fast enough. Obeliks' fist crushed it into a pulp, leaving only a single tendril still attached to the platform the at Kevin stood upon.  
  
"Bravo, bravo. You did well for such a puny mortal. Defeating one of my Kugutsu like that. Of course by destroying it you grant me more power, and you hardly manage to hurt me." Dalin grimaced as he remembered the effect of Demon Blood. Now Kevin would gain power and life points from the destruction of the demon puppet. Kevin reached out and picked up the tendril, plunging his teeth into it and sucking out whatever blood he could get.   
  
Dalin sensed Kevin's power increase as the demon duelist absorbed the blood into his system. It would grant him greater power, and it would increase his life points by nine hundred, half of the Kugutsu's base attack strength. Dalin would only have managed to deal a measly one hundred life points in that attack. (KLP: 7450)  
  
While Dalin might have succeeded in bringing out Obelisk, the duel was far from over. There was much more to be done, and he had to hope that he could get rid of Kevin's defenses before the other duelist managed to think up a way to defeat the Gods. What was worse, to get past Kevin's defenses, he'd have to grant the other duelist more life points and more power. "End turn."  
  
Kevin idly drew a card and examined it, then he smirked. He had a method to use, he'd just have to wait for it. Of course he could also wait and allow Dalin to assist him by destroying his monsters. "For the moment I think all I have to do is sit back and let you do the work, granting me power and life points. I'll summon the second Demon Soldier(1900/1500) in defense mode." The purple demon formed itself from entrails and slime, just as all of Kevin's other monsters had. It crouched in defense, its hand on it sword, ready to be drawn at a moment's notice.  
  
"Now I believe that all I can do other then that is to switch my two Kugutsu and my Dark Baltar into defense mode." The two remaining demon puppets dropped into a crouch, extending their tendrils into a shield in front of them. Dark Baltar had to settle for crouching down and raising its arms up above its head as a makeshift shield. None of it would help block the incredible power of Dalin's God.  
  
"Since there isn't any more I can do right now, I leave it to you to take your turn and make the most of it. That is the end of my turn, and the beginning of the end for you. All you can do is help me, so I feel no disgust with myself for playing defense. Play on!" The demons looked between the two, uncertain whether to cheer Kevin as they had before, or to boo because he was now the one defending. Strategy didn't come easily to them, so they were uncertain.  
  
As soon as Dalin added the second card to his hand, he knew what he could do. He was about to somewhat replenish his hand, and he now had a new method to bring out a God. Though he wasn't sure if he wanted to, he felt he needed to. Only the Gods could defeat a duelist like Kevin. "I summon Venus, Angel of Creation(1600/0)"   
  
The feminine angel took shape from a cloud of angel wings. She stood tall and proud, her long golden tresses flowing outwards from her body. The three spheres that were her constant companions circled her head, ready to be summoned at a moments notice. She was more dangerous then she appeared to be, and Dalin knew just how to use her. "Now that I've got an angel on the field, I remove one card from my cemetery to activate its effect. Angel Heart! When I've got an angel on the field I can remove it from the grave to draw cards equal to the level of one angel on the field."  
  
With this said he started drawing, adding three more cards to his hand. Now he had four cards, one of which was a God. Using the needed method, he might be able to summon it, but the question remained of whether he should. "I activate Terraforming. This lets me search my deck for a field card and add it to my hand." He ejected his deck and shuffled through it, finally picking the card he wanted. Then he reshuffled and returned his deck to its normal position.  
  
"This place could use a bit of cheer and a bit of remodeling. So I'll play my field card, Sanctuary of the Sky!" As soon as he activated the card he felt something flowing into his body. It was a wave of pleasant emotions, good thoughts, everything that was the opposite of Hell. The palace in the sky took shape behind him, reforming the stadium a little bit to make room.   
  
He gasped as power flowed back into him, restored by the mere presence of the Sanctuary of the Sky. With its power in play, he knew that he could win this. His angels were invincible, his power was being supplied by an outside source, and he had one God on the field. Now he knew he could summon another. "This duel just got a whole lot different."  
  
"No matter what you do, it won't really make a difference. A few cards can't determine this duel for you, so don't even bother thinking they will. Sanctuary of the Sky is nothing to me, a paltry card that can be eliminated as easily as any other. The God is a different matter, but not by much." Kevin sneered at Dalin, his disrespect for the other duelist and for his cards evident. Dalin would have to teach him respect.  
  
"We'll see if that's the case. I'll now use the effect of Venus, and pay one thousand life points to special summon two of the Holy Shine Spheres!" He felt energy drain out of his body, but it was replaced just as quickly by his field card. Venus whispered a few words, and two of the spheres that floated around her moved into attack position, their five hundred attack and defense points ready for us. Of course he only needed them for the next turn. (DLP: 6100)  
  
"Obelisk, choose your next target." Again the titan's eyes roved over his options. After just a few seconds he settled on the Kugutsu that had stood next to the last one he destroyed. He might as well destroy each of the strongest first before moving on to the weakest. After all, there was that little angel beneath him to take care of weak ones.   
  
"Now, destroy it." Obelisk didn't attack with his God Hand Crusher. If anything the attack he used would have to be called the God Foot Crusher. Obelisk raised one huge clawed foot, and stomped down on the Kugutsu, turning it into goop. Blood splattered out from underneath the foot, and Kevin gathered that up, drinking the little bit that was left. The life points settled into their new places. (KLP: 8350)  
  
Venus glanced imperiously up at Obelisk, plainly impressed at the strength of this huge creature. He was not one to be trifled with, a good thing that he was on her side. "Venus, do me a favor and get rid of the Demon Soldier." Venus nodded in acceptance, and raised her two dainty hands, aiming them at the demonic soldier.  
  
A burst of green light shot out from her hands and speared through the Demon Soldier, punching a hole right through its stomach. Kevin let out a roaring laugh and pulled the soldier to him, sinking his teeth into the flesh of its neck and drinking deeply. Dalin could feel the rising power, and he grimaced as the life points once again readjusted themselves. (KLP: 9300)  
  
With Kevin's monsters dropped to just two, it was almost time for Dalin to turn this duel completely around. He just had to get rid of Baltar and the last Kugutsu, then he'd be able to go in on the attack. Next turn he would heat things up by summoning the second God, that was certain. Kevin would stand a chance against two gods, and with Sanctuary of the Sky in play he wouldn't have a problem summoning the next one. "That's all."   
  
Kevin drew another card into his hand, and then nearly burst out laughing. He never would have guessed that he would draw this card now, though it was hardly a bad thing. Things were starting to shape up, and shortly he could make things go his way once again. "I place one card face down on the field." The card formed in front of him, shaped by his will. It was ready to be used whenever he had need of it.   
  
"I know what you're up to Dalin, and I quite approve. Go ahead and bring on every God that you can, I'll defeat each and every one of them. Obelisk, Osiris, Ra. It doesn't matter to me, all it will take is the power of my deck to defeat them. You are nothing to me!" The crowd cheered in his favor, despite the fact that the advantage belonged to Dalin. They were simply pleased by his words, certain that Kevin would be the winner since he was more or less on their side.  
  
"That's all I have to do for this turn, and I beg you to consider the options I've already presented. Embrace Destruction, embrace your own demise. It will make things much easier for you. After all, no matter what you do you're going to Hell anyways." He smirked and finished his turn, leaving it to Dalin to continue the trend he had started. Dalin would attack and increase his power, and then things would quickly change. He knew they would.  
  
"What do you mean by that?" Dalin's words were sharp and true, and just what Kevin had been expecting. It was so easy to predict mortals that it almost wasn't worth the effort. Almost. But the amusement factor was just too great to pass up, so he had to do it, even if it was easy. It wasn't as fun as breaking someone, but it was fun nonetheless.   
  
"Simple. All roads lead to Hell, and Heaven doesn't even exist. Heaven is just a trifle thought up by a bunch of sentimental fools he hated their lives and hoped that there was some kind of paradise waiting for them at the end of the tunnel. Well they were wrong, Hell, the concentration of despair and agony, is all that remains for one after death." His laughter rang cold and true through the stadium, and the demons beat against the backs of chairs and stomped on the ground creating an uproar to emphasize the point.  
  
Dalin shrugged these words off, certain that Kevin was just messing with his head. He drew his next card, given him a total of three. Now he could clear the path and unleash his devastation upon Kevin. He would have victory because there was no other option. "I sacrifice Venus and the two Holy Shine Spheres in order to summon Saint Dragon Osiris(X000/X000)!"  
  
The mighty red serpentine dragon took shape, its huge mass standing alongside the enormous Obelisk. Both were huge, but each in a different way. Osiris' coils stretched across the stadium, a few of them crushing hapless demons. Since Dalin had two cards in his hand, Osiris had two thousand attack and defense points, making it stronger then Dark Baltar's defense.   
  
"Obelisk, take out your target first." For the third time Obelisk set his sets on a Kugutsu, the last of the Kugutsu. With a sweeping kick he sent it hurtling into the air. It was speared onto the spikes of Kevin's platform, and it made it easy access to Kevin who scooped up the seeping blood and gulped it down. With the flowing blood of the last Kugutsu, Kevin's life points soared once again, and his power rose as well. (KLP: 10200)  
  
"You've made a grave error. You see, because you destroyed the last Kugutsu, I may now special summon Demon Manipulator to the field. Since it is being special summoned, its stats automatically double, setting it at twenty-eight hundred attack and defense points. The master rises from the shadows to strike back!" The original demon, the thing that was almost identical to the demon puppets but more pure, was revealed, taking shape on the field. However it was about to become a victim.  
  
"Since your monster has been summoned, Osiris will strike it with Summon Lightning Impact!" Osiris opened its second mouth wide and formed a ball of purple energy within it. Then it unleashed that ball of energy, sending it hurtling straight at Demon Manipulator. When it struck the demon would become a weak monster with only eight hundred attack points, easy prey for Osiris' actual attack.  
  
"Dalin, did you know that Osiris' Summon Lightning Impact is actually considered an attack? Since that's the case, it makes it easy to activate my set card. Reveal permanent trap, River of Styx!" From his trap came a river that screamed of despair, of the forgotten, of those who have fallen into darkness and never returned. It shot out in a spray of water, intercepting Osiris' attack and stifling it. Then it came crashing down, forming a looping river around them.  
  
"Upon activation the River of Styx negates an attack. Of course now it will grant each of my demons immunity from directly targeted trap cards. It also ends your battle phase, preventing you from eliminating my Dark Baltar. Your turn and your Gods are just about finished." Kevin's look was a victorious one, but all Dalin could see was a pitiful delay. One turn wouldn't stop him, and in the next turn he would defeat Kevin, he was sure of it.  
  
"Oh, and in case you were thinking of setting a card to protect Osiris, think again. River of Styx prevents you from setting any more cards or summoning any other monsters for the duration of the turn. Looks like all that's left for you is to end your turn and let me take down Osiris." Dalin grimaced, realizing that Kevin was right. With only two thousand attack points, Osiris was no match for Demon Manipulator. This was bad.   
  
Kevin drew another card giving him a total of four. He didn't even bother to look at the card, he simply made a motion with his hand. A side slot in his dark duel disk slid out, giving him a sixth space outside of his magic and trap zones. A separate slot that could only be intended for one thing and one thing alone. "It's time that I change things a bit, and make myself more at home. After all, the home field advantage is supposed to be mine."  
  
Slowly he guided the card he had drawn into the open zone, and then with a pass of his hand he closed it yet again. Smiling he looked back up at Dalin, and began to speak. "We exist now in the place that is much the opposite of your Sanctuary. Just as this place is the opposite, just as we are opposites, so must there be an opposite to your Sanctuary of the Sky. " The edges of the waters of the River Styx started to glow a dull red, and the waters began to boil.  
  
"So now I unleash the awful might of the place that we now reside in. The awesome power of one field card. It is my proof that all roads truly do lead to Hell, for that is exactly what my field card is. HELL!" Everything exploded. Kevin's arms rose above his head and jets of flame rocketed up from the ground, sending gobs of molten rock spewing through the air. The flames shot across the field and wrapped around the heavenly building that was Sanctuary of the Sky. The angels that flitted around it cried out as they and the building were burned from existence.  
  
"Come demons, come ghouls, come goblins, come orcs, come spirits, come devils! Your home is here at last!" Dalin saw the distinct shape of a volcano rise behind him, saw demons of different shapes and sizes take form in the fire, driving helpless humans onwards using whips and spears. The flames now consumed everything, there was no floor, on fire and boiling lakes of lava. They were now in a coliseum that contained a miniature form of what was outside the coliseum.  
  
"With the power of the field card Hell, each of my demons gains invulnerability in battle against non-demons. However Hell is superior to Sanctuary in the Sky. Though my demons lose five hundred defense points, they each gain eight hundred attack points, raising all my demons to new heights of power!" Dark Baltar and Demon Manipulator grinned wickedly as their power rose, Dark Baltar to twenty-eight hundred attack and Demon Manipulator to thirty-six hundred attack. Baltar's defense fell to a mere five hundred, and Demon Manipulator's to a decent twenty-three hundred. They were now too strong.  
  
"But that's not all! I activate the permanent magic card, Circles of Hell, further completing the realm of Hell!" As Dalin watched, the flames became partitioned into nine individual sections, these sections each contained a different feeling. The pieces of Hell were coming into existence. Hell itself, the River of Styx, and the nine Circles of Hell. Kevin's new strategy was that of Hell itself....  
  
"Circles of Hell grants my demons immunity from directly targeted magic cards, completing their set of immunities. Battle, traps, and magic. Now they are utterly invincible. Furthermore, upon being activated it increases the attack and defense of my demons by five hundred, and will continue to do so in each standby phase." The smirks on the two demon's faces only widened as they gained even more power, Demon Manipulator even reached a height of strength slightly greater then that of Obelisk. Even the God was impressed.  
  
"I move them both into attack mode. Now my two monsters will slay your Gods and crush your final hopes of victory!" Demon Manipulator raised the palm of its hand and then shot a jet of fire at Obelisk. The God monster attempted to fight it off, but it was somewhat too much for it to handle, and it was burned alive. With its fall and the lack of Sanctuary of the Sky, Dalin could feel the pressure of Hell redouble. It became worse when Dark Baltar smashed Osiris apart with his bare hands.   
  
"Now I'll lay a single card down on the field, and end my turn." Kevin's turn was over, and it had been especially effective. Though he had not been touched physically, Dalin could feel his power leech from his body with a loss of such a great number of life points. Without the backing of his Sanctuary and with the sudden added presence of Kevin's Hell field card, things were just getting worse by the second. He had to pray for something effective in his next turn, or he'd be finished. (DLP: 4700)  
  
The muscular angel user looked over his hand that now contained three cards. In his previous turn he had spared cards because Osiris needed the attack points. Now he couldn't afford such a thing. He had to defend himself or risk suffering the consequences. "I set a monster in defense mode and one card face down. End turn."   
  
His brief advantage was gone, and Kevin held all the cards now. He could only hope that soon he would be able to find a way to defeat the deadly combination of cards that Kevin was unleashing, otherwise all of existence was doomed. Even his duel with the Pharaoh hadn't been this high tension, this dangerous....or this difficult.   
  
XXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXXX  
  
The shared bound between the three of them was all that kept them going. They had entered Hell, and what now stood before them was a giant coliseum. Unfortunately it was surrounded by a long line of various nasty looking demons, one of which was obviously a large ogre-like bouncer. Dalin had to be inside that coliseum, Drake was sure of it. "We need to get in."  
  
The large bouncer demon lowered its eyes, finding Drake looking up at it from about waist level. It quirked its single eyebrow as it had only one eye, and then hefted its club. The club was easily as thick around as Drake was, and a little bit taller. It would turn him into pulp if it was swung his way. In a deep and booming voice the bouncer spoke. "Lotsa people need to get in, big excitement, fate of the world and all that on the line. Of course everybody wants to see Ammut die, sure you do to. Then again....you three look like humans....are you?"  
  
Drake glanced at his decidedly human companions, and then came to a sudden conclusion. He had an honest answer to that question. "Actually I was, but I'm dead now so I don't think that counts. These two are my spirit guides, they helped me get here. Please, we need to get in to see this, we need to. Please?" The demon eyed them carefully, and slowly he came to a conclusion. Drake could practically see the demon's head starting to overheat with the effort of that thought, but the conclusion still came. The bouncer lifted his club into the air.  
  
Suddenly an attractive woman with several pairs of angel wings appeared in their midst, her arms folded very casually. The demons around them gasped and backed up, even the bouncer seemed shocked. Finally he spoke. "Everybody get aside, I crush the angel." Drake was about to open his mouth, but quickly found himself being pulled through the now unguarded door.   
  
Once they were in, Drake turned to Kirani and quirked an eyebrow in amusement. "Wingweaver? That was certainly quick thinking." She grinned back, and then the two girls grabbed him by the arms and started leading him on, and into the stadium. As soon as they entered they found themselves surrounded by roaring demons, staring down at a dueling field wreathed in flame. The two duelists were exactly who they had come to see.  
  
"Dalin....know our presence. We're here to support you." Extending their feelings outwards using his Disc, he guided them to Dalin. The angel duelist blinked and Drake saw his gaze rise to their position. At this distance he probably couldn't see them clearly, but he nodded never the less, certain as to who it was. With renewed vigor he awaited Kevin's move.  
  
"Let's see what you think after I begin my next attack. First I'll activate Demonic Recount, my face down card. I'll shuffle my two cards into my deck and then draw two more, at the same time granting me one thousand life points. An effective card which will assist me in crushing you completely." He shuffled the two cards into his hand and then pulled free two more, the look on his face a feral grin as he saw the cards in his hand. Whatever he had drawn, he was happy about it, and that didn't bear well for Dalin. (KLP: 11200)  
  
"Let's bring Hell even closer to completion shall we? I summon Cerebus the Three-Headed Demon Dog(2000/2000)! A powerful level five who can be summoned without tribute if Hell is in play. And of course he gains eight hundred attack points, making him stronger then most monsters. And Circle of Hell does its work for my other monsters as well!" The massive three-headed dog formed on the field, its fangs dripping poisonous saliva into the fire beneath its paws.   
  
Demon Manipulator and Dark Baltar greeted the demon dog with a nod of the head, and then closed their eyes as a wash of power swept through the circles and into their bodies. Their strength rose, bringing them to forty-six hundred and thirty-eight hundred respectively. "Cerebus will attack your set monster!"   
  
The demon dog leapt on Dalin's set monster with glee, tearing into it with its fangs, shredding it into tiny pieces. In those brief moments before it was ripped into too many shreds to be recognizable, Kevin had seen the little flat squirrel. "Nimble Momonga is destroyed, allowing me to special summon two more face down and lets me gain one thousand points." Two more set cards appeared on Dalin's field, keeping his defenses up. (DLP: 5700)  
  
He had felt the increase in his power, so he knew that such a thing still helped, if only for a bit. It was certainly a good thing the squirrels weren't like his angels, otherwise they'd be a little bit more difficult. Their brains were too simple to be affected very much by Hell at all. "Dark Baltar and Demon Manipulator will crush the other two!" The two demons attacked the squirrels, destroyed them. However Demon Manipulator's attack didn't go unheeded. (DLP: 7700)  
  
"Upon the attack of Demon Manipulator I activate Enchanted Javelin to raise my life points by its attack strength!" Kevin grimaced as the javelin with little angel wings sucked up some energy from his demon's attack and then shot back at Dalin. Instead of causing him harm he could feel large amounts of power flowing back into him, allowing him to recover. (DLP: 12300)  
  
Unable to make any further moves, Kevin declared the end of his turn. As soon as Dalin started his own turn, he felt a wave of fear, and just as quickly he brushed it aside. There was no time to have such a feeling. Despite how precarious his position was, he had to keep fighting. He had no choice in the matter. "I set a monster in defense mode. That's all I can do."   
  
When Kevin drew he couldn't help but laugh, watching the power of his monsters rise. The dog now over three thousand, the baltar at over four thousand, and the manipulator over five thousand points. Three extraordinarily dangerous monsters with extreme amounts of power. With such great strength he couldn't help but win. "Hell comes closer and closer to completion with each and every move I take. Now I'm going to show you another piece!"  
  
He slipped the card into one of his magic and trap zones, activating it instantly. The familiar edifice rose up, the same feeling rolling off of it that all those present had felt before when they first passed through it. The familiar little pathway that started the road to Hell, a gate. "I activate Gate of the Dead! With its presence I will continue to raise my forces, and you will see how in the next turn....if there is a next turn for you. Cerebus, destroy his set monster!"  
  
The middle head took aim and spewed a jet of acid down upon the card. A screaming man in monk's robes with a halo above his head cried out before he was incinerated. Then an identical man took his place, crouching in defense mode. "Ascending Man(500/1200) is weak, but has a similar effect to Nimble Momonga. When he goes to the cemetery from the field I gain five hundred life points and get to summon another in defense mode." (DLP: 12800)  
  
Kevin roared in anger and called out the next attacks. His two other monsters incinerated the last two Ascending Men, burning them to ashes. Despite this, Dalin remained strong and proud, his energy renewed with each strike. He had surpassed Kevin in life points, but he still had a distinct disadvantage. With the Ascending Men gone, Kevin finished his turn. (DLP: 13800)  
  
Dalin surveyed the field, considering the implications of Kevin's various combinations of cards. The field of Hell increased his demons by eight hundred attack, meaning even the weakest demon could have great strength. It also prevented his demons from being destroyed in battle by anything but another demon. Should Dalin get rid of Hell and destroy the demons in battle, Demon Blood would increase Kevin's life points.  
  
Furthermore there was River of Styx, which defended Kevin's demons from any directly targeted trap card. A card like Drain Shield wouldn't work now. Circles of Hell continuosly increased the attack and defense power of Kevin's demons and prevented them from being destroyed by directly targeted magic cards. And he had no idea what Gates of the Dead could do. "I draw."  
  
He instantly played the card, revealing the magic of Payment of Debt. The card went to the cemetery, and then he drew the top three cards of his deck. Payment of Debt had originally been revealed by Taichi, but Dalin also found use for the card since it was quite effective. He looked over his three cards and closed his eyes briefly. Not a single monster. "I set three cards face down. That completes my turn."  
  
Kevin snickered slightly, certain that victory was his. Dalin couldn't stop his monsters with traps or magic, and with no defensive monster, he was completely finished. All he needed to do was attack with his monsters and he would have victory. "Victory is mine Dalin, you have no way of defending yourself." He drew his card and smirked, deciding on exactly what he would do.  
  
"Watch the effect of Gates of the Dead as it summons a monster that doesn't count towards my total. A Lost Soul token with three hundred attack and defense points!" The doorway opened slightly, and a shimmering black orb floating out. It was small, and its stats puny. But it was a demon sub-type, and therefore it would be gaining quite a bit of power.   
  
"Circles of Hell activates once again!" The ripples of power flowed into the four monsters, granting them each further power. The Lost Soul token reached a decent sixteen hundred attack strength, the weakest of the four. Cerebus followed after with a thirty-eight hundred, then came Dark Baltar with one thousand more, and lastly there was Demon Manipulator with a dangerous attack strength of fifty-six hundred. Together they had more then enough power to deplete Dalin's life points to zero.  
  
"Each of my monsters will attack directly!" The roars of the demon thundering in both duelists ears as they four monsters launched their attacks, sending spirals of flame, acid, and blue energy straight at the angel duelist. If this attack connected he would be finished, and Kevin couldn't see a way for Dalin to save himself. His cards worked too well, so this duel was over!  
  
"Your River of Styx has a fatal flaw Kevin! It only prevents me from using directly targeted traps on your monsters! Mass targeted traps aren't even slowed down. So I activate Heaven's Judgement, a trap which will remove your directly attacking monsters from the game!" The attacks spiraled into a flowing vortex of light, and that light moved forwards and consumed the four monsters, leaving Kevin's field bare of monsters.  
  
Kevin heard the laughter of humans, and his eyes shot up through the crowd. His gaze fell upon the faces of the three remaining humans that were in the Shadow Realm. Serenity, Kirani....and of course Drake. Those damned irritating brats had come to cheer on Dalin as if that could help him? What idiocy! It wouldn't save him at all, and no single trap could defeat him. "This isn't over Dalin, so bring your next move upon me. I'll just crush you next turn."  
  
Dalin nodded and then condiently drew his next card. He knew now that Kevin was far from invincible and just as prone to mistakes as anyone else. He was as good a duelist as ever, his deck was very powerful, but he could be tricked, could be beaten. All it took was some extra effort and a few good cards. "I summon Absorbing Angel(1300/800)!"  
  
His new monster took a bit of effort to summon, but not a huge amount, not with the amount of extra power he had gained. It helped a little, so he didn't have to worry. This angel was a very fat boy in brown shorts and a white t-shirt which didn't cover his navel. His wings hardly looked enough to carry his weight. The demons and Kevin laughed at it.   
  
"Absorbing Angel, attack directly!" The angel took flight, astounding the crowd with such an incredible feat. It surged forwards and tried to crush Kevin with its bulk, but the demon duelist casually erected a barrier, forcing it to bounce off. Yet the damage was done, and for the first time in this duel Kevin had dealt real damage to his opponent. (KLP: 9900)  
  
"There is my proof. If you can take such damage, then you can be beaten. I will win this duel no matter what words and strategies you use. Dalin Imaki Sumatin does not lose, nor does he falter in any cause in takes up. I see all things to their completion." This was the completion of his turn, and hopefully the start of a new trend. If he could keep the field clear for a little while longer then he would be able to defeat Kevin.  
  
As soon as Kevin's turn started the doorway of the Gate of the Dead opened, allowing another Lost Soul token to emerge. It was powered up by the effect of Circles of Hell, raising it to sixteen hundred just as the last one had been. Kevin sneered as he took his newest card and slammed it down onto his field. "A further piece of Hell, which I summon by sacrificing the Lost Soul token. I summon Thanatos(1900/1800)!" The token shattered, and up rose a tall hooded figure wielding a scythe and riding a pale white horse. One skeletal hand was visible, holding the scythe.   
  
"My Thanatos has a special effect which I might reveal next turn, but for the moment his purpose is clear. He will crush your little piggy angel!" The rider on a pale horse charged forwards, an economy of motion as he swept down with his scythe. Yet to Kevin's surprise the scythe met thin air, for the fat angel was no longer there. Kevin looked around in confusion, and then spotted one of Dalin's face down cards being revealed.  
  
"Again I don't have to effect your monsters to come out the best in a situation. The card Angel Swap lets me return an angel on my field to my hand in order to special summon one angel from my hand, regardless of conditions. So here's what I replace it with!" Kevin's eyes widened as the tall form of Archangel Zerato rose in the place of the Absorbing Angel. With a swing of his sword the archangel forced Thanatos back to Kevin's side. However, thanks to Hell it received no battle damage, keeping it alive and making Kevin lose no life points.   
  
"Damn you! I swear I will achieve victory! For now I simply set one card face down, and declare the end of my turn. Just wait, I will win this duel and show you utter agony before I bring about the end of all things." Dalin was not concerned with these words. He knew them to be true in a sense, but he had no intention of losing, therefore he wouldn't just allow Kevin to achieve victory. He would fight for all he was worth.   
  
Dalin's draw brought him just the card he needed, and his gaze fell casually upon Thanatos. With that monster in the way he couldn't get to Kevin's life points, but with his newest card he could change that. "First I'll start off by resummoning Absorbing Angel!" Again the fat angel took shape, ready to join its much taller and stronger brethren in engaging in battle with the fell demons. He had to win, there was no other option.  
  
"Now I activate the magic card, Heaven's Lance. In order to use this card I must select one angel on my field. I select Zerato. Now my opponent, you, must select a monster on your field with an equal or lesser level." Since Kevin only had one monster it wasn't hard to fit that criteria. He announced that he was selecting Thanatos, and motioned for Dalin to continue. It didn't matter, he was confident that his monster was safe.  
  
"The effect of Heaven's Lance allows me to avoid the protection of Circles of Hell. Circles of Hell just protects your demons from being destroyed by directly targeted cards. Heaven's Lance will remove both monsters from the game for the duration of the turn, thereby bypassing the destruction aspect of Circles of Hell." Zerato reached out and gripped the glowing lanced that was offered to him. Now he was armed with the needed weapon.  
  
Zerato swept across the field and stabbed the lance into the belly of Thanatos. Since Thanatos was merely a skeletal figure, this had no effect. But it did allow Zerato to pick Thanatos up and carry him off as the angel took flight into the sky, fading out before reaching the ceiling. Now the path was once again clear. "Absorbing Angel attacks directly!" The angel struck Kevin's barrier for the second time in this duel, and the crowd laughed at his expense. (KLP: 8600)  
  
Kevin's gaze raked across the field, his anger silencing the demons. However, three very human voices still laughed at his expense. He was about to strike out, but then a smile came over his features. No....he had a better idea. "You're impressing me enough that I think the stakes will be higher. You see, I never really thought you'd inflict any real damage to me." He gestured with his hand, and the laughter was silenced.  
  
Now, hanging from lengths of black chain just above the fires, were the three spectators. Drake, Serenity, and Kirani, all tied up and ready to be dispatched into the flames. "Here's the new feature to this already exciting duel. Whenever you successfully deal damage to my life points the three of them will be lowered a little closer to the flames. When I deal damage to you, they get raised a bit. So if you deal too much damage to me, they get to fry. Willing to risk them?" His laughter covered the shouts of the three, so Dalin didn't know what they were saying.  
  
Dalin felt his gaze travel up to the three people he had come to know in the past day or so. To think it had been such a short time. His gaze met Drake's, and the other duelist gave him a tight lipped smile. Drake understood what Dalin had to do, and he wasn't angry. There was no understanding from the other two, only terror and uncertainty. He had to act, and he had to feel no remorse. "Do you think such a thing will delay me? I won't fall prey to such weaknesses. This duel is more important then either of those three, so I will win it even if it costs them their lives."  
  
Kevin was astonished. He had never expected Dalin to so easily accept the deaths of these three on his conscience. Had it been the pathetic excuse for a Pharaoh he was certain the tactic would have worked perfectly. In fact on most duelists it would have, but apparently Dalin was made of sterner stuff. "I'm so proud of you Dalin, like a father is proud of his son when he takes his first steps. You've learned the first lessons in depravity, and that makes me glad."  
  
The angel user could only scowl and declare the completion of his turn. He couldn't let Kevin get to him. The words meant nothing, so there was no point in listening. It was just that....his words seemed so true. It did feel wrong and right at the same time, like he was making the wrong choice for the right reasons, or something along those lines. "End turn."   
  
The demon duelist drew another card, and watched in satisfaction as the doorway opened, unleashing another Lost Soul token. However he had more in mind then just a single little token. Zerato and Thanatos returned to the field, both completely unharmed. "I now activate Double Mode, which simulates a second standby phase, allowing me to produce another Lost Soul token." A second little black sphere emerged from the doorway, joining the first. And now he had what he needed.   
  
"It is time to show you the one who is perhaps like you, or perhaps like me. In trying to do what was right he fell into darkness and became something terribly wicked. He became one of the most hated creatures of all time, became something so much worse then anything else. I will tribute my two Lost Soul tokens in order to unveil this hated being, to unveil the power that will be your defeat. For this monster is no demon....it is an angel!" The two tokens shattered, and power started flowing inwards, forging itself around a column of darkness that was intertwined with light.   
  
"This creature is the only dark main-type angel in the entire game. That is just one of the various things that makes him unique. Now, meet the form of your destructor, Lucifer-The Morning Star(2650/2200)!" The angel took shape, revealing a darkly handsome made with pitch black eyes, flowing golden hair, and expansive black wings. He seemed to radiate confidence and power, and it seemed to take no strength at all for Kevin to summon him. It was too easy.  
  
"Meet the truth of your defeat, for with this monster I can do just as Lucifer is said to have done! I can turn angel against angel, brother against brother! By forfeiting my battle phase for this turn I can take command of all the angels on your field! So come to me as I use the Call of the Morning Star!" Lucifer opened his mouth and began to sing. The sounds were horrible and haunting, yet beautiful at the same time.  
  
Zerato and Absorbing Angel moved forwards as if possessed, stumbling towards Kevin. Kevin's laughter did not drown out the haunting sound of Lucifer's song which was now mingling with the song of the choir, becoming something more hellish then ever before. It took only moments, but now everything had turned around. Kevin had four powerful monsters....and Dalin had none. "The end has come for you Dalin! With the singing of Lucifer's song I have brought about the last moments of your life. One the next turn, you will die."  
  
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Author's Notes: It rages onwards, the duel between Kevin and Dalin! And I'm amazed to announce that these twenty-seven turns have only taken up two chapters. This duel was going to be a three-parter....but now I'm considering extending it into a four part duel. After all, that was only half of the duel. The duel against Ihachi was 79 turns and it lasted just three chapters, but because of dialogue and various cool stuff this one is becoming longer.  
  
Original Cards  
  
Kevin: Demon Catapult, River of Styx, Demon Manipulator, Cerebus the Three-Headed Demon Dog, Circles of Hell, Demonic Recount, Gate of the Dead, Thanatos, Double Mode  
  
Dalin: Heavenly Array of Light, Ascending Man, Heaven's Judgement, Payment of Debt, Angel Swap, Heaven's Lance  
  
Original Cards not by Me  
  
Kevin: Hell, Lucifer-The Morning Star. Both of these cards were submitted by Vaurnut, or rather, not submitted but he let me use them anyways. 


	38. Ballad of Lost Souls

Disclaimer: Don't own Yugioh  
  
Author's Note: I will dispense with an advertisement and a quote for this chapter. This isclimactic conclusion in the duel between Kevin and Dalin, which will be followed by a concluding epilogue. That's right, this story is almost over. Then the sequel will start.  
  
Chapter Thirty-Seven: Ballad of Lost Souls  
  
The song of Lucifer mixed itself with the everlasting song of Hell, forming the haunting lullaby that had dragged Dalin's angels over to Kevin's side of the field. In this manner Kevin had managed to gain an even greater advantage, and things were starting to look bleak for Dalin. Kevin had just pronounced that in the next turn Dalin would fail, that he would die. "I now place one card face down, completing my turn."  
  
Dalin nodded and took in a deep breath, hiding his nervousness. He had no cards in his hand, so he was no top decking. If he was unable to draw something useful then in the next turn he would most certainly perish under the assault of Kevin's monsters....and his own. "I draw my card!" He slowly slid the card off the top of his deck and brought it up before his eyes, glancing to the image. He could recognize his cards by picture so didn't need to check the text.  
  
"If it pleases the audience, I think I'll stay alive for more then another turn. After all, we wouldn't want to cut down on their fun. So for the moment I simply set one magic or trap card face down on the field, ending my turn." A little flow of feathers combined themselves together into his now face down card, giving him just a few cards between himself and Kevin's numerous monsters. This wasn't going to be easy.  
  
Kevin smirked as soon as he drew his card, raising one arm to point directly at Dalin. As soon as he declared his attack this duel would be finished, for his monsters had more total attack points then Dalin had life points. "First Gate of the Dead summons a Lost Soul token!" The doorway opened and out came the little black glowing sphere in its weak form, however it was quickly boosted in power by Hell.  
  
"Now Circles of Hell boosts the attack strength of all my demons on the field, so Thanatos and the Lost Soul token each gain five hundred attack and defense points!" The surge of energy flowed along the nine different lines, coming together in those two monsters. The Lost Soul token rose to the decent level of sixteen hundred, and Thanatos reached a total of forty-two hundred attack points. Lucifer, Zerato, and Absorbing Angel remained at their base attack points because they weren't demons and therefore couldn't receive the bonus.  
  
"Now all of my monsters will attack you directly, finish him now!" Dalin counted carefully, aware that the total attacks would leave him with a mere two hundred and fifty life points, not much to work with. The various attacks all streaked towards him, and he hastily erected a barrier of positive energy to counteract their negative energy. The attacks exploded across his barrier, shaking his entire body and much of the stadium. He barely managed to maintain it.  
  
"Kevin! I'm chaining that attack with Pain Slicer! This trap card will reduce any damage dealt to me in this turn by half, keeping me safe for the moment. Looks like you failed to follow through!" His trap card flipped up, and it erected a partial energy barrier within his, successfully dropping the total damage by half. This would mean that he'd be left with a far greater amount, a much better amount to work with. (DLP: 6525)  
  
Kevin sneered and gestured to his Lost Soul token before announcing the next part of his move. "It doesn't matter, damage is still damage. For now I think I'll prepare myself to introduce Thanatos' effect. First I offer up the Lost Soul token in order to place a counter on my demon." The grim reaper swung with his scythe, cutting the innocent Lost Soul token in half. A glowing light appeared on the side of the scythe, displaying that it now had a counter on it.  
  
"What is the purpose of that counter?" As Dalin spoke these words, he noticed out of the corner of his eyes that his companions were raised slightly out of the flames, not by a large amount, but still enough. He was certain that damage dealt to Kevin would drop them farther then damage dealt to him raised them. That was the way the duel had been working out so far. Their fear was practically tangible....except Drake's. He must be working on something.  
  
"You'll see next turn, but for now I've juts got to continue my move. Now I activate my placed card, Fall From Grace! By its effect I can discard my hand to place one card from my deck into my hand. Since I've only got one card in my hand its not exactly a great loss." He ejected his deck from its spiked clamps and shuffled through it, looking for the card he wanted. As soon as he spotted it a grin flicked across his features and he took it out before reshuffling his deck.  
  
"With that out of the way, I think I'll end my turn since Fall From Grace prevents me from using that card in the turn I got it. Oh well, guess I'll just have to show it off next turn. Go ahead and show me if you can recover, it would amuse me." The demons roared in pleasure, certain that with his current advantage their favored contender would win this duel easily. They could see it coming, they knew it was coming. There was no other option. They could practically taste the pain as Dalin's life points dropped to zero. It would come, it was destiny.  
  
As soon as it became Dalin's turn, he extended one arm forwards and declared his move. "Reveal remaining face down card! It's called Life Renewal, and by its effect I regain half the damage dealt to me in the previous turn!" He smirked right back at his opponent as the trap card's effect went off, sending flows of energy into his body. It wouldn't be the same as the level of life points he had before, but it would certainly help him out. (DLP: 9663)  
  
Dalin lowered his eyes to the card he had drawn and then he let a small smile touch his lips. It was nothing that would help in a normal duel. That would mean he had no way of defending himself in the next turn. He would be finished for certain. Unless of course things worked as differently as they had throughout the rest of the duel. Perhaps he could make this to his advantage. "I activate the magic card Heaven's Hand!"  
  
Kevin looked at him with confusion in his eyes, and then he started laughing. "You absolute idiot! That card requires you to sacrifice angel sub-type monsters in order to draw cards equal to half their total levels. But you don't have any angels on the field whatsoever!" His laughter was echoed by the crowd, yet despite the onslaught of laughter Dalin seemed perfectly untouched by it. Kevin narrowed his eyes, trying to figure out what Dalin was getting at.  
  
"That's very true, at least part of it. But the truth is different as it so often is from what is obvious. While you don't see any angels on my field, I see my angels on your field. And they are my angels. A change of allegiance means nothing in the long run, therefore I'm going to sacrifice Zerato and Absorbing Angel in order to draw six cards from my deck!" The magic of the card started to take effect, wrapping around the two angels. Kevin's eyes widened as that glow increased.  
  
"But it's impossible! There's no rule to govern such a thing! It shouldn't happen at all, it's an illegal move. How the Hell is this possible?" Despite his words of protest there was nothing he could do as the two angels were consumed by the light, raised up to heaven in order to assist Dalin in his quest to save the universe and to win this duel. Kevin raged over and over again, and the demons booed, but it couldn't stop Dalin. Nothing could stop him in this moment.  
  
He deftly drew his six cards and looked them over, trying to decide exactly what he should use. As long as he played his cards right he could turn any bad situation into a good one. There was no way he was going to be stopped now, because there was just too much at stake. "How is it possible? Simple, because the rules have been twisted in this place. Don't forget that everything that is dark and wrong is what makes up Hell, and therefore rules are never exactly as they should be in this place. The mere presence of Hell is what allowed me to use Heaven's Hand in such a manner."  
  
Kevin grimaced, realizing the truth of these words. The place he had brought them to had been meant to give Dalin a disadvantage, and so far it had. But now it had just assisted him in recovering from his disadvantage, giving him new cards to work with and eliminating a threat to his life points that was controlled by Kevin. "I set two cards face down and a monster in defense mode. That's all."  
  
With Kevin's draw he now had two cards in his hand. Upon drawing yet another Lost Soul token was brought out onto the field. The power of the nine circles flowed into the two demons on the field, bringing them to an even greater level of power. Now Thanatos was only three hundred attack points away from reaching five thousand. In the next turn he would break that number. "I'll start this simply by sacrificing my Lost Soul token to Thanatos."  
  
Thanatos reached out with his hand and took hold of the Lost Soul, his deadly touch doing its work. The soul turned into gray stone and crumbled away. As soon as this was done a little light appeared next to the first one on the scythe. "Now to use his effect. By sacrifice two counters off of Thanatos I can force you to discard one card from the top of your deck!" With a sweep of his blade Thanatos sent an arc of fire at Dalin. Dalin stopped it with his energy, but still had to discard his top card.  
  
"Now is the time for me to use the card that I got in the previous turn. You see, this card will show you the truth of the power of Hell, the deadliest essence that can be contained in such a place. Dark Ruler Hades may rule the Greek underworld, but he certainly isn't the ruler of this place." He fingered the card he was holding, and then slapped it onto his duel disk. As soon as he did a column of darkness erupted from the flames, swirling all around the monsters on Kevin's field.  
  
"Behold the might of my monster, the monster that all creatures here but me bow to! The power of Satan-True Ruler of Hell(3200/2700) who can only be summoned by sacrificing Lucifer while Hell is the field!" The black column converged on Lucifer and the angel reached out, grasping hold of the darkness. Suddenly it was pulled into him, and it became obvious to Dalin what was happening. Lucifer was absorbing the pure evil that composed that column of darkness.  
  
The darkness faded, revealing the true ruler of Hell. He stood over nine feet tall, nearly reaching the top of the platform that Kevin stood on. His skin was a charcoal black, and craggy lines of red could be seen. He was like lava made flesh, and evil surged off his body in waves. Sweeping horns extended from the back of his head, and spiked shoulders maintained the presence of a cape that was blacker then night. With the power of Hell it's attack was four thousand and its defense was twenty-two hundred.  
  
"Now, I attack your set monster with Satan!" The ruler of Hell raised one arm and then released his darkness. A pitch black wave of energy erupted from his palm, rolling over whatever monster Dalin had set. Dalin was astonished to discover that the effect of his monster didn't go off upon being destroyed as it should have. He started to open his mouth to protest, but Kevin got there first.  
  
"According to one of the effects of Satan, monsters attacked by him don't get their effects activated. Therefore whatever your monster was, it has become useless. And furthermore, since Satan destroyed a monster I get to summon a Devil Servant token with one thousand attack and zero defense. However you know what happens, it gains eight hundred attack points!" The monster that was summoned was a rotting corpse, held together by negative energy. It held a curved blade in one hand and a shield in the other.  
  
Dalin wasn't about to be finished though, he wasn't going to let Kevin defeat him. "The destruction of my monster may not have triggered its effect, but it does allow me to activate one of my two face down cards. Reveal Angel Renewal! This now lets me special summon an angel from my cemetery, so I revive Zerato!" His archangel assumed its position on the field, looking like nothing against the might of Satan. However it was not intimidated by the lord of Hell as some creatures might be. It simply held its blade at the ready.  
  
"How pathetic. That angel won't save you any more then any other creature of yours. So Thanatos, destroy it!" Thanatos charge across the field on his steed, and then swung his scythe at Zerato. The angel raised his blade to block, but instead of metal clashing against metal and shimmering barrier of light deflect the attack of Thanatos. Kevin's eyes widened in surprise, and he saw Dalin's other face down card activating.  
  
"My angel does indeed save me, because using its presence I can use my face down card, Protection of Grace. This will protect my Zerato from all damage of any kind. Unless you can get rid of Protection of Grace, you can't get to me." Kevin grinned as Dalin spoke these words, and the angel duelist began to wonder why Kevin seemed to be so confident. Did he already have a method for eliminating Protection of Grace....or was he just being his usual creepy self?  
  
"Very well, since I can't continue to attack I guess I'll just have to settle for using my remaining card. It's called Heart of a Demon, and upon activating it I can place a demon from my deck into my hand." Yet again he ejected his deck and searched through it. It took him less time to find the card he wanted then it had with Satan and soon he was putting his deck back in, shuffled once more. Now he had what he wanted, but since it was a demon he couldn't use it until next turn.  
  
Now it was once again Dalin's turn, and by drawing he gave himself a fourth card to work with. He didn't have that many things he could do, but he still had Protection of Grace keeping him safe. For the moment he had a protection advantage, but Kevin still held the majority advantage and power advantage. He had to change that, and he might have a way to do so. "I place one card face down."  
  
His face down card was just insurance. He was still counting on his Protection of Grace/Zerato combo. However he also had the option to grant himself more options, and that he was most certainly going to do. "Now I activate the permanent magic card Joyful Light of the Heavenly Realm. A long winded name yes, but it's also effective. Now each turn I can draw two cards in the draw phase. However, that's all I can do right now, so I end my turn."  
  
Upon Kevin's draw another Lost Soul token appeared, giving him an option of sacrifice for Thanatos. The demon duelist grinned at the sight of his new card, which allow him to open up some options for himself. He was certain Dalin would find it interesting. "Alright then, I think I'll start by sacrificing my Lost Soul to Thanatos."  
  
The grip of Thanatos turned the token into dust, putting him one counter away from using his effect again. Dalin knew it wasn't extremely deadly, but any card he lost might be a critical one, so he had to find a way out of this trap. "Now I'm going to use a permanent magic card of my own. It isn't as long winded but it's equally effective. Expanding Shadows lets me use each of my magic and trap zones twice, expanding my options."  
  
A stream of shadow raced across the field, granting Kevin the stated effect. Dalin didn't know how much of a danger that could be, but anything that helped Kevin wasn't good for him, that was for certain. What was worse, the effect of Circles of Hell had just pumped Thanatos above five thousand points and made Satan as strong as the Ultimate Dragon. The Devil Servant now had over two thousand points.  
  
"I now summon Demon of Black Tokens(1200/700) who gains the bonus, but that's not important. What's important is that I can sacrifice him to special summon three Devil Servant tokens." The demon appeared on the field, only to vanish and be replaced by three precious little skeletal tokens, rotting just as much as the first one. Dalin blinked, and then grimaced that these tokens must not count towards Kevin's monster total...just like the Lost Souls.  
  
"Next I'll reveal one of the effects of Satan and his Devil Servants. By sacrificing two Devil Servants I can destroy one magic or trap card on the field. By sacrificing all four of my tokens I can destroy both your set card and Protection of Grace! So watch as your protection falls apart!" The four tokens shattered, and energy rushed into Satan.  
  
The Lord of the Flies raised his arms and fired two balls of flame. The streaks of fire crashed into the two cards that Dalin had on the field. Both Protection of Grace and his face down card shattered, leaving him defenseless. "Now it's all over for you! You've got no way to protect yourself!"  
  
Suddenly the face down card that Kevin had destroyed reformed itself, only this time it was face up. Dalin announced his action, and Kevin cursed as soon as he heard it. "I chain the destruction effect with my set card, Thunder of Ruler. This card prevents you from going into the battle phase in this turn, protecting me." Unable to do anything else for the turn, Kevin was forced to finish up with that. Yet it didn't matter, since Dalin had no way to defend himself and virtually no options.  
  
Dalin followed the effect of Joyful Light of the Heavenly Realm by drawing two cards instead of one. That gave him a total of four cards in his hand, two of them he couldn't use yet. He glanced at his two new cards, and then slipped them into his m/t zones. "I set two cards face down." The cards appeared in front him, ready to be used at a moment's notice.  
  
"Kevin, I swear this right now. Even if it takes the same measures as it did in the distant past I will still defeat you. That is my promise." Kevin only chuckled, uncaring of whatever promises Dalin made. No such thing had any meaning to him. He had nothing to fear of such a pathetic meat puppet such as this. Dalin wasn't the threat or the prize, it was Ammut whose consumption would allow Kevin to release the Forbidden One.  
  
"You don't get it do you? I can't lose because my reasons are more pure then yours. You want to save the world? From what? Its already the most terrible thing that anyone could imagine. Even Hell doesn't compare to what the world really is. It's just a damned cycle of repeating events!" As he spoke Dalin could feel Kevin's anger, and the demon duelist smashed one of his hands against the spikes on his platform, shattering the bones in his hand.  
  
"Is that the case? Then why don't you finally explain it to me. Tell me who or what you are so that I can at last understand." Kevin narrowed his eyes at Dalin and then glanced down at his shattered hand. He shook it, restoring the bones instantly. Physical damage was nothing to him, but this question was different. Should he answer? That was truly an interesting prospect, it might even assist him in this duel if Dalin were to know.  
  
"Alright then, I'll explain. You see, I'm just a mere fragment of something much greater. That greater thing was also a fragment of something greater then itself. You know well enough that what inhabits me was at one point in the past called the Hand of the Forbidden One. Well what really is in me is just a fragment of the Hand." As he spoke Dalin could feel himself flowing backwards, could feel the truth in this words. He could picture the dark form of the Hand in his mind, and he knew that Kevin spoke the truth.  
  
"The Hand of the Forbidden one was created as a puppet of the greatest and most terrible of all Egyptian gods...or rather not a god, but the opposite. A dark god. The Hand was merely the tool of Apep, the Great Destroyer who devoured the Sun, who devoured Ra. Even the god Set was not feared as much as Apep, none was." Dalin could see the image in his mind, things he had seen in drawings long ago. A giant pitch black serpent swallowing the god Ra.  
  
"It was all the fucking same! A damned cycle of attempting to devour Ra. There was never any choice for Apep, alone amongst all the other gods he was forced into such a situation, it was simply his, or rather its roll. No choices, always the same thing...and like any mortal Apep grew tired of it all. So Apep made the choice to destroy everything to make it stop, and that would required the Essence of Destruction.  
  
But Apep was trapped, trapped helpless within that cycle. He couldn't take any direction action to release the Essence, therefore he had to find an alternate route, an indirect route. He partitioned a peace of himself into the Hand of Exodia. In order to manipulate humans the Hand partitioned a peace of itself to possess humans. That's me. That is my purpose, to end the suffering of my greater self. But its truly a pity isn't it? I don't have a choice in the matter, and I actually enjoy torturing mortals. Oh well, I was never truly alive in the first place."  
  
Kevin concluded his speech, ignoring the strange looks he was getting from Drake and Dalin, and the odd silence of the demonic crowd. They were just now beginning to truly comprehend that the being they were cheering for was intent upon bringing about their destruction, which wasn't a good thing. The door opened, and out came a Lost Soul token, signaling that Kevin's turn had started.  
  
Next as was the norm the power of Circles of Hell kicked in, bringing Satan up to five thousand and Thanatos to nearly six thousand. These monsters were enormously powerful, and there was little Dalin could do to stop them. Kevin smirked as soon as he saw his card, and slid it into an activation slot. "My first card should be familiar. It's Twilight Renewal, letting me draw five cards into my hand!"  
  
He deftly pulled the cards free, giving him an entirely new hand to work with. With five cards versus the smaller number that Dalin had, the advantage of options had now become Kevin's once again. That was hardly a good thing for Dalin, but Kevin was certainly satisfied. "Now that I've got these cards, I'm going to remove Heart of a Demon from the cemetery in order to use its effect one last time!"  
  
The card shot out from his cemetery slot and it fell into a lava pit below. It was incinerated almost instantly, effectively removing it from the game for good. Kevin smirked as he searched his deck for the monster he wanted, coming across it fairly quickly. He added it to his hand and returned his deck to its correct position. Now he had six cards to work with. "Before I summon this monster, I think I'll activate a permanent magic card first. It's called Enhanced Production!"  
  
The card appeared on the field, displaying the images of multiple assembly lines. Even in the enlarged form Dalin couldn't quite make out what the text said at this distance. He would have to wait for an explanation. "Now any effect that produces a token will double the number of tokens produced! Instead of one Devil's Servant I'll get two, and two as well from Gate of the Dead." He snickered, and Dalin realized what this would mean. Each turn Kevin could sacrifice two Lost Soul tokens to Thanatos in order to blast away another of Dalin's cards.  
  
"Things are getting interesting aren't they? Well now I'll make them more interesting by completing Hell once and for all! I summon Ferryman of the River Styx(300/2000) in defense mode! And since River of Styx is in play he won't lose any defense points from Hell and gains fifteen hundred defense from River of Styx! He can't attack though....but his defense and his effect easily make up for that." The monster that appeared stood on a simple brown ferry on the river that flowed through the flames.  
  
This monster was tall and gray skinned, his face covered by a brown mask. He rowed through the river on his ferry using a giant oar that was at least twice as long as a normal human. He seemed unconsidered by the pleading faces and hands that reached out from underneath the water of the river, all begging him for help. That was not his duty, his duty was only to ferry souls, not to pick them up if they were stupid enough to fall into the river of the dead. "With the Ferryman on the field, this entire duel changes!"  
  
Dalin's eyes widened, wondering what effect the Ferryman could possibly have that would make Kevin so confident that it would grant him victory. What could this simplistic looking creature do that was so dangerous? "The Ferryman has the duty of taking souls across the River Styx into Hell proper. Well he can ferry demons as well, and that's exactly what his effect does. He allows me to ferry my demons straight to your life points!"  
  
Kevin couldn't help but laughing at the look on his opponent's face, on the fear he felt being held inside. On the fear he felt from every creature in the entire stadium. They were all now terrified of the outcome of this duel, and it was all because they knew the truth. He was going to win, and there was no stopping him. "By reducing the attack strength of my demons by half for the duration of the turn, I allow them all the ability to attack directly!"  
  
With this power he could avoid any defensive monsters that Dalin might put in his path, could just waltz right past them and straight to Dalin's life points. The Ferryman made everything much easier. As soon as he declared an attack, the entire duel would be cast in the light of the winner....or rather shadowed in his darkness. "Satan, Thanatos, Lost Soul, all of you will now attack directly!"  
  
The three named monsters waited for only a few moments as the Ferryman approached. He allowed them each onto his large but simple ferry and then pushed off towards Dalin. The ferry took them through the river and right around Dalin's Zerato, bringing the monsters in line with him directly. The unleashed their separate attacks, and he erected his barrier as quickly as he could. But it was worse. The pressure on his energy, on his very being was getting worse. (DLP: 3513)  
  
Dalin wasn't going to allow that energy to just drift aside, so he was going to recover as much of it as he could. He had to, otherwise he'd never make it through this duel for much longer. "Reveal face down card, Poison of the Old Man!" He used the quick-play magic card's effect to boost his life points by twelve hundred, restoring his life points and his energy by a slight amount. But it wasn't anywhere near as much as he had lost. It would simply serve to delay what appeared to be inevitable. (DLP: 4713)  
  
Kevin just grinned at his opponent before intoning the next part of his move. He selected two cards from his hand and slid them on top of a couple of his other cards. Circles of Hell and River of Styx he was fairly certain. "I set two cards face down on the field, using the effect of Expanding Shadows." The two cards appeared in front of him, right in front of his respective face up cards that he had placed them over.  
  
"Next I'll sacrifice my Lost Soul token to Thanatos to grant myself that last counter I need. Then I sacrifice the two counters to destroy another of your cards!" The token offered itself up easily and with no struggle. Thanatos used its energy and the energy of the last one to strike out at Dalin, blasting against Dalin's barrier with that scythe of his. Dalin could only grimace and slid the card off the top of his deck, checking what it was, before pushing it into his cemetery slot. In Kevin's next turn it would happen again.  
  
With Kevin's turn completed it was now Dalin's turn to see what he could do. He drew two more cards off his slowly reducing deck and then chose which cards he could make use of. In fact he knew of a combo he could use fairly quickly in order to gain an advantage...a slight advantage that would probably be brief. "I summon Zolga(1700/1000)!" The trapezoid-like angel appeared on the field slowly, made more difficult by Dalin's weakening energies.  
  
"I place a single card face down, and then play Hope of Renewal to draw cards from my deck equal to the level of the weakest angel on my field. So I get to draw four more cards thanks to Zolga!" He had chosen not to use it while Zerato was his weakest monster because he couldn't afford to draw out eight cards at this moment. Not with the effects Kevin was using against him. He didn't want to risk it at this moment, so he simply drew his four cards.  
  
With five cards in his hand and plenty of options he decided exactly what to do. He selected his cards, and then declared his move. "Reveal trap card, Angelic Rage! All your sickening habits have incurred the wrath of my angels, and now they will strike back at you! Zerato and Zolga will now attack you directly, returning the favor you gave to me in the last turn!"  
  
The two monsters attacked in their own ways. Zolga launched a beam of energy that was halted by a barrier that Kevin erected, and Zerato's blade was deflected by the exact same barrier. Their combined attacks would reduce Kevin's life points by more then half of what he had, putting Dalin in a bare lead. "Now I've got you down and out demon!"  
  
His opponent didn't seemed troubled by the damage, in fact he seemed amused. He raised one hand and extended his pointer finger straight up, wagging it back and forth. "Tsk tsk little Dalin. You should know better then to strike your superiors, for they will certainly strike back with greater force. I'll teach you how to respect your superiors with the Play Nice trap card, which reflects half that damage back to you!" The trap card flipped up, depicting a Buster Blader and a Blue Eyes on a see-saw.  
  
Dalin crossed his arms in front of him, raising his barrier as quickly as he could as a red line shot out of the trap and straight at him. He had no cards to protect himself from a redirected attack like that, so this was going to hurt. The line of power connected with his barrier and started forcing him backwards, only fading when he was mere centimeters away from death by impaling. He felt a trickle of blood run down his back where the tip of one of the spikes had pricked him. (DLP: 2463, KLP: 6350)  
  
"Not just that, but since you've attacked me I can also reveal my other set card! It's called Appearance of Lost Souls! Upon activation it summons a number of Lost Souls equal to the number of monsters on your side. So here come two more of them!" The two black spheres shimmered into view, and Dalin cursed the gods of fate for what they were doing. Next turn he would lose two cards, something he could not afford. This duel just wasn't going right at all, everything about it was going wrong.  
  
"I place two cards face down and end my turn. Be warned Sumatin, though things are to your advantage at the moment, I will turn this duel around as soon as I can. Your efforts will have all been for naught!" His two cards appeared in front of him, but Kevin wasn't watching them. He was watching Dalin with an amused grin on his face. Why he was grinning Dalin wasn't sure of.  
  
"You're joking right? Do you have any idea how much I've played you mortals since the beginning of Kaiba's stupid tournament? Allow me to enlighten you. You see, it all started when I used my influence to gain temporary control of Industrial Illusions while Pegasus was incapacitated....not be me surprisingly. By that thief." His words became truth, and a flickering image appeared high above and between them. Dalin's eyes raised up to watch it.  
  
He saw Taichi talking on a phone with someone, heard his words as he requested a package, as he asked about the god cards. Heard him specifically request for the Toon World card. "I made my way through Battle City using the deck originally constructed by my host, with only one minor addition, the powerful card known as Toon World. Quickly it gained the attention that I wanted, and I got Kaiba to show up. When he was there I manipulated his mind so that he would allow extra entrants into the tournament, entrants that I wanted to be there."  
  
Kaiba descended into an alley from the ladder of a helicopter and the two held a brief chat, Taichi as amused as ever and Kaiba as irritated. In the end Taichi challenged Kaiba to a duel, but the other duelist refused and left, claiming that he had better things to do. "Following that I got as many locator cards as I could, because I had two entrants I wanted in the tournament. My spiritual reports claimed that one of the two had the Millennium Gauntlet, which I wished to be present."  
  
There followed an image of the group outside the stadium before they took the blip. It was when they had found the note with the twelve locator cards in it, inviting Ryu and Kensai to join in the tournament and have some fun. "The purpose for this was to make my presence and the presence of so many items an attention grabber for that pathetic tomb keeper called Shadi. He arrived and informed the Pharaoh and you about me and my plans, just as I wanted to, and then we dueled. As you all saw, I won the duel and claimed his two items as a prize, thereby increasing my power."  
  
Dalin saw Shadi approach himself and Yugi, telling them the story just as had happened. Then the image shifted to Taichi and Shadi facing each other on platforms forged of fire, showing Exodia blasting Shadi off the platform. It also showed Taichi crushing the two items and absorbing their power. "I also arranged to alter the draws of Drake Ihachi in his Battle City duels so that he would win, and also so that Kirani would get into the finals. Autumn was easier, since her yami Misuno just cheated for her."  
  
There followed a few flashes of some of Drake's duels in Battle City, how he had seemed to draw critical cards just when he needed them. Then it showed him stepping up onto the blimp, a cocky grin on his face as he and Kirani boarded together. "I needed Drake and Autumn there because they were item holders and I knew the great power that any holder of the Millennium Disc would have. Kirani was there so that I could take her soul, which I knew would trigger an increase in power in Drake....that and it was amusing to me."  
  
Next came scenes of Kirani dueling Taichi and losing to the power of Exodia, and then Drake facing Autumn with his power raging through Obelisk and onto the field. The enormous power that had been unleashed at that moment. "Wait, here comes the best part. I arranged for a certain person who I my spirit guides had informed me was the selected host for Ammut, who would arise at a sign of my threat. So I arranged for that person to be in Egypt and for an accident to occur when Ammut took over. He therefore landed in the hands of Malik who had been manipulated by dreams I gave him, and Malik used him to his own ends."  
  
Dalin's teeth ground against each other nearly hard enough to crack them as he saw himself lying prone and naked in the desert, saw Malik helping him up and Malik setting him off towards Battle City. There were a few flashes of the duels that Dalin had been through in order to reach the finals. "Once I had all the necessary pieces in the finals it was even easier from then on. Because Malik and Isis, his sister, had each had the same dreams, she came to intercept me. I defeated her easily and gained the power of her Tauk, which allowed me peeks into the future."  
  
They could see Taichi standing about a dozen feet away from Isis, a duel in progress. They were only a few meters away from the stadium as they dueled, and Dalin saw Isis collapse to the ground from a strike by a toon monster. Then Taichi took the Tauk and shattered it in his hand, absorbing the power. "Using those visions I foresaw that you would defeat Malik and destroy his body. Therefore I arranged to swap his soul with that of his hikari, and therefore gained the allegiance and a piece of the power of that lunatic. It also allowed me to drain his Millennium Rod and gain that power."  
  
Dalin stood tall and proud, declaring the attack of Winged Divine Dragon of Ra. The golden wave of energy washed over Malik's body and incinerated it, making it appear that he was truly gone. Then it showed Taichi sitting on a couch in his room on the blimp and crushing the Rod, gaining its power like the others. "With all that out of the way it was my time to duel Drake. I crushed him easily enough, and then Ihachi reared her head in an unexpected manner. I realized the power she would have should I drain her, but knew I couldn't do that without going into her realm, and in her realm she was a goddess, too strong to crush."  
  
Dalin saw Drake fall as the attack of Invader of Darkness became to much for him, blood dripping from his lips as he passed on. Then it showed moments of Taichi's duel against Ihachi, the two going at it like crazy. "I understood that the only way to crush her without any real effort was to get her to commit to a game of my making, and I needed players. Therefore I lost my duel against Drake in order to give an excuse for my sending you all to the shadows, and I launched th missiles I had commandeered, wiping out all but 2% of Earth's population."  
  
He saw the final moments of Drake's duel with Taichi as Exodia blasted the Metal Devil token, thereby ending the duel. Then it showed Taichi's performance, the appearance of the shadow above him and the casting of them into the shadows. "Of course from there I manipulated who would win what, and got the needed duelists into Ihachi's true realm, just as I wanted. From there, in the form of Kevin Hunter, I secretly stole away a few of the people there, including Autumn, taking the power of her item without destroying it since it was in the Shadow Realm and easier. I also arranged for Ryu to duel Hinata, and by his lose and the darkness that came with that duel I easily took the power of his gauntlet."  
  
Dalin grimaced as the recent memories reappeared, showing the explosion that ended Ryu and Hinata's duel, showing them lying helpless under the rain. It showed Kevin touching the shoulders of several of the gathered duelists and taking them away to take their souls. There was the loss of Autumn, and everything was becoming clear. "I had wormed my way into that place through manipulation, and I allowed the thought of 'Taichi' as a threat by having my host duel Kensai and manipulated Kensai's draw so that he would eliminate them both. There was no more Taichi, so the presence of my darkness in Kevin was easily dismissed by even you."  
  
The last frantic moments of the duel of Kensai and Taichi, the explosion of Self-Destruct Switch and the last smile that Taichi flashed. Then there was Yami and Dalin looking Kevin right in the eye, seeing straight into that darkness. But their own minds dismissed it casually as an impossibility. "Once that was all out of the way I assisted Yami in defeating Yami Malik, thereby collecting his debt to me in the form of his dark soul and all his power. Everyone went in to duel Ihachi, and I assisted her in her draws so that she could make the only possibility of defeating her to be Drake dueling her."  
  
He saw Yami Malik's final moments in the duel against Yami, and then various pieces of the duel against Ihachi. The things that happened that eliminated Yami, Kai, Bakura, and nearly Serenity and Kirani. Drake arrived and they started their duel. "Once they started dueling it was only a matter of fate and a little manipulation to get Drake's god out, thereby winning the duel for him. Using it completely exhausted him, making him easy pickings for me. I took the energy from him and his ancient twin, even the power of the Millennium Disc."  
  
At these words Drake's eyes lit up, but he couldn't get Dalin's attention without alerting Kevin to it. Kevin had missed, he hadn't gotten all the power of the Disc because he still had access. The images above displayed the climax of Drake's duel against Ihachi, and then the appearance of Kevin to take their energy. "Finally I manipulated you into coming to this place where I would have you at a disadvantage. Of course the one place where it almost screwed up was that bloody idiot host of mine smiling in that last moment. Had anybody but Kensai seen it there would have been trouble, but I got lucky."  
  
The last images that showed before the flickering images above faded was that of Dalin and Kevin entering through the Gates of the Dead and coming to this coliseum to begin their duel. Dalin grimaced, and he felt true despair. They had been manipulated the whole way through....Kevin, or the spirit within, had manipulated them all to bring about this final end. All it needed now was Dalin's defeat so it could gain his power and destroy Ammut. "It's hopeless then isn't it?"  
  
He didn't even notice as he fell to his knees, the will starting to drain out of him. How could he possibly fight back against such a force? It had been around for most likely millions of years, and had been manipulating events in humans since before recorded history. This force was too great, too smart, too deadly to be fought. There was no way to win. "I....I embrace...."  
  
Kevin's grin widened as he awaited those words. The instant that Dalin submitted and spoke those words he would have won the duel and all things would come to an end! He just had to finish the sentence, had to complete the phrase and then it would al be over. "Yes? Yes? What do you embrace?!"  
  
Dalin picked up his head to speak those words, but he couldn't say them. There was too much noise. He scanned the coliseum, watching the demons as they roared out their responses. They were shouting for him to get up....they were telling him to continue, to not give up, to persevere. He was their only hope so he couldn't quit. He could hear the voices of the endless lost ones speaking to him, begging him to continue. And most of all, he could heard the voice of Ammut, ordering him to rise or be devoured. It was too important for him to surrender.  
  
Slowly he rose to his feet, the strength returning to his limbs, to his eyes. He felt his eyes travel slowly towards Drake, and he could see the smile etched on the punk duelist's lips. The Millennium Disc worked, and it had allowed Drake to transmit the feelings of all those lost to Dalin. Turning his gaze back to Kevin, he completed his sentence. "I embrace the light. I embrace my strength and the strength of those long past. I embrace the unending desire of the human heart to live on!"  
  
Kevin's roar of anger shook the entire stadium and a blazing column of darkness surrounded his body. It was power such as none could have ever imagined, the power of a million years of hatred and desire for death and destruction. It was the raw power of the darkness. "SO BE IT! EMBRACE YOUR DEATH!" With that said he snapped a card off the top of his deck, and began his turn.  
  
As soon as his turn began the power of Gate of the Dead brought forth a Lost Soul, and then Enhanced Production allowed it to bring forth another, joining the two that Kevin already had. Their power shot up to sixteen hundred, and the other demons also increased their power yet again. The combos were having their effect, and there was nothing that Dalin could do about. "You see? It's hopeless for you. So I set one card, and now my monsters will enter the ferry!"  
  
The four Lost Souls floated over and into the ferry, followed by the powerful forms of Satan and Thanatos. Dalin carefully counted up their attack strength when reduced, and found himself severly lacking in enough life points to survive such an attack. Cut in half their total attack strength was nine thousand and fifty, nearly five times the number of life points he had available. "Destroy him!"  
  
The ferry was rowed across the river, and the six monsters assaulted Dalin. He grasped hold of all the feelings he was receiving to prepare himself, and then remembered what he had on the field. "Reveal face down card, Light Barrier! This quick-play magic card prevents me from being attack by monsters this turn!" A barrier of light shot up between Dalin and the attacking monsters, for once not of his making. It took a little bit of effort, but the barrier of light stopped in the incoming attacks, protecting Dalin for the duration of the turn. It was the light version of Dark Wall of Air, and it had just saved his life and the world.  
  
"But that's not all! I activate my set card, Joy of the Card! At a cost of one thousand life points I can now place a card from my deck into my hand!" His trap also flipped up, and he let the energy flow through it, dropping his power to a much lower level. He ejected his deck and searched through it, finally having exactly what he needed. He reshuffled the deck and placed it back where it belonged, and relaxed for the rest of the turn. (DLP: 1463)  
  
Kevin just smirked, totally confident in his superior strength. No single card that Dalin could have gotten for himself would help in this instance, and it would only take a single attack by one of his monsters to finish Dalin off. Of course he could always help out a bit using his Thanatos' effect. "You're really trying to destroy yourself and give up the lives of all living things aren't you? After all, you can hardly afford those one thousand life points, no matter what card it was for."  
  
Dalin chose not to respond, and gestured for Kevin to continue. He rolled his eyes and declared exactly what he wanted to do. It was all too easy. "I sacrifice my four Lost Souls to give Thanatos four more counters. Then I sacrifice those four counters to destroy two of your cards." Thanatos sliced straight through the four souls and gained their power. Then he lashed out with that power at Dalin, forcing him to expend some critical energy to defend himself from being cut up. It took far too much effort to keep form being speared on the spikes behind him.  
  
"End turn." Kevin's turn was over, but Dalin was still discarding the two needed cards. His eyes lit up briefly at the sight of one of them, but he hid it well and discarded them both. Then he drew the two cards from his deck thanks to Joyful Light of the Heavenly Realm. He glanced at them both, and then swiftly selected the first card he wanted to use. Things were about to change really fast.  
  
"I use the magic card Veil of Light! By sacrificing one monster on the field, in this case Zolga, I can place one card from my deck into my hand!" Zolga shattered into a million pieces, giving up his life for the greater good. Kevin just leered at him, so Dalin ignored it and searched his deck for the card he wanted. He placed it in his hand, and prepared himself for what he was about to do. This would work, it just had to.  
  
"Now this duel will come crashing down on you, just as I said it would! Activate magic card, Harpie's Feather Duster to blow away all of your precious strategies!" Kevin let out a shout of shock and horror as the gust of wind erupted from the magic card, sweeping across his waters and his fires. Every single card there suffered under that gale, and then shattered, becoming nothingness. Now even the field of Hell was gone, taking some of the pressure off of Dalin.  
  
"It's about to get worse, because I play Heaven's Wrath! I chose this card specifically for dueling you, because its effect destroys every demon on the entire field!" This mover was even more shocking to Kevin, who could do nothing but watch as a roaring tornado of light swept across the field, sucking all of his monsters into it. The demons struggled to escape, but the power was too great. Soon they were all consumed by the overwhelming strength of the wrath of Heaven itself. Hell had gone, and Heaven was taking over.  
  
"It's not done though Dalin! You've sent my face down Bloody Hand of the Demon Prophet to the cemetery! So if I guess my bottom card correctly I get to draw five cards. And I guess that it's a magic card!" He drew the card off the bottom of his deck and displayed it to Dalin, revealing the Treasure of Hell. He sent the card to the cemetery, and swiftly drew his five cards, giving him a total of seven cards in his hand, enough to make up for what he had just lost, partially at least.  
  
"Now I play the card that will make or break this duel, but it will be for me that it breaks the duel....against you. I activate Sacrifice the Light! I must offer up a total level of light monsters on my field that is at least two less then a monster I will then summon normally to the field from the grave. And by normal summoning this next monster, I can keep it for more then a turn. I raise Saint Dragon Osiris(4000/4000)!"  
  
Kevin didn't think it was possible for Dalin to bring out the mighty dragon yet again, but here he was, doing it. It was only then that he noticed the lines of power trickling from the crowd. The pathetic demons were offering up parts of their strength to keep Dalin going, to let him summon Osiris! "Now Osiris, Thunderstroke Attack!" The blaze of purple energy rammed into Kevin's barrier and forced him backwards into the spikes. (KLP: 2350)  
  
The demon duelist pulled himself off of the spikes and passed a hand in front of the holes in his belly. They faded away and he shot a glare around the room, finally settling on Dalin. He was furious, but yet Dalin could still feel confidence and arrogance rolling off the other duelist in waves. What could have him so confident in victory even when he was now at a sever disadvantage. "You think a god can defeat me? Osiris is nothing to me, none of the gods matter to me! Bring them all on and I'll still achieve victory! I'll do it by singing the ballad of the lost souls, for their essence will help me achieve victory!"  
  
Dalin didn't understand what his opponent meant, couldn't understand what the lost souls had to do with anything. If he meant Lost Soul tokens then he was insane for sure. Those things had been pathetically weak, and could never defeat Dalin, they could never even get past Osiris. The instant one of those weak things was summoned it would be destroyed by Osiris' second mouth. "Your confidence is amazing, but not exactly well founded. I end my turn."  
  
Kevin drew forth another card, giving him eight cards in hand and not a single card on the field. No monster that he could summon would survive thanks to the power of Osiris, so he was essentially helpless. Traps and magic couldn't destroy gods so that wasn't an option either. Now Kevin was in much the same position that Dalin had been in earlier. "Victory is imminent."  
  
Dalin gave his opponent a flat disbelieving stare. How could he think that victory could be achieved against the power Dalin was wielding? The true advantage belonged to him, and there was no way for Kevin to dispute that. No matter what cards he held it didn't matter, in fact the only way he had a chance of winning was with Exodia. With that thought Dalin's mind shot into a tangent, wondering if Kevin held pieces of Exodia in his hand. If he did, he must be hoping to draw the others to bring victory.  
  
"By the look on your face and the powers I have I can guess what you're thinking. You think I plan to use Exodia right? Well that's not even a part of my strategy. In fact, I won't be using any monster cards for the moment. I'll just set four cards face down and end my turn." The four cards appeared down in front of him, the only barrier between him and Osiris. And a paltry barrier at that. There was no way it would stand against the Saint Dragon.  
  
Dalin drew two cards and smirked, confident of victory as Osiris shot up to six thousand attack and defense points. It had taken much more work for Kevin to get monsters of such great power. There was no way he could deny that. "How the tables have turned. Now the idea of your victory is completely laughable, because as defenseless as you are you can't stop a god like this. So Osiris will attack and end the duel!"  
  
Kevin let out a laugh and spread his arms open wide as if inviting the attack of Osiris. However as he did so two of his cards flipped up and revealed their power. "I chain with two of my cards! The first is called The Laughing Dead which grants me a number of Lost Soul tokens equal to the level of an attacking monster, and since Osiris is a level ten, I get ten Lost Souls!" Ten of the little black spheres shimmered into view on the field, and to Dalin's surprise Osiris payed them no mind and didn't launch his attack at them. However his attack was still heading towards Dalin.  
  
"Didn't you realize? The Lost Souls don't take up monster zones, therefore I can't defend with them and Osiris can't use his second mouth effect on them. But now I can defend with them, using my permanent trap card Needs of the Many! It draws one of the Lost Souls in the way to take the brunt of your attack!" Dalin gasped as one of the black things zipped in the way of the enormous sweeping purple attack. It was consumed by it, but Kevin was perfectly safe. Saved by a token with only three hundred attack and defense points.  
  
"Not only that but I'll activate another permanent trap called Vampiric Aura! During each of my standby phases I'll gain one hundred life points times the total levels of all of your monsters! Things are changing again aren't they?" Dalin grimaced and declared the completion of his turn, knowing that he had nothing more he could do. He might as well keep Osiris at the level of power it was at, and wait till the next turn to use cards so he wouldn't have to discard.  
  
As soon as Kevin drew his card he started gaining life points from Vampiric Aura. Yet he was about to spend those life points with great ease. He chuckled as he activated his card. "I play Blood Sacrifice, offering up the one thousand life points I just gained in order to special summon a demon from my cemetery. So here comes the Ferryman of the River Styx!" The familiar ferryman appeared, but he was stranded in his ferry with no river to travel upon. It was kind of sad actually.  
  
Osiris opened its second mouth and shot its attack at the Ferryman. However one of the Lost Soul tokens swept into its path and took the attack, saving the Ferryman. There were eight more tokens left, so Kevin was perfectly fine for quite some time. And with the Ferryman those tokens would be able to attack in the this turn. "I set one card and play a second Gate of the Dead!" The familiar form of the gate took shape, and next to it was a set card. Now Kevin was safe for even more turns.  
  
"Now, Ferryman will take the Lost Souls across the field to assault your life points directly!" The ferry was forcefully pushed across the ground, going right under the coils of Osiris with each of the eight tokens in tow. The tokens shot straight out of the boat and raced towards Dalin. He raised a paltry barrier, hardly able to stop the attacks from finishing him off. He felt his energy weak with each barrage by one of the tokens, and even the continuous trickles of power from the crowd and his three companions wasn't enough to keep him going for long. (DLP: 263)  
  
Now it was once again Dalin's turn, and his hand rose to eight cards along with the power of Osiris. He surveyed the eight cards in his hand, choosing what he had to use in this turn. He knew that with the deadly combo Kevin had going it had to be good. Any attack he made would be stopped by a token, and Gate of the Dead would produce another token each turn to do so. Of course Kevin could then attack directly with those tokens.  
  
"I place two cards face down, and next I activate Angel Glow and Holy Water, increasing my life points by one thousand and seven hundred respectively." The effects of the cards assisted him, increasing his life points by a good deal. It also helped to restore a certain degree of his energy. Unfortunately it was just a replacement, and not as good as the original. He was truly running low on power. (DLP: 1963)  
  
If he attacked it wouldn't make any difference, but he needed to get rid of more of those tokens. So he would have to attack. "Osiris, attack the Ferryman!" Osiris opened its jaws wide and shot a stream of purple light at the monster. The effect of Needs of the Many activated, and one of the lost souls took the hit, dropping their number to seven. Of course in the next turn it would be replaced, but that didn't matter.  
  
"Thank's for helping me Dalin. Because a Lost Soul was destroyed in battle I can now activate Army of Darkness, producing ten more Lost Souls, giving me a total of seventeen!" Multiplying in place of the one destroyed came ten more, bolstering the ranks of the tiny little lost souls. Dalin grimaced as he began to be aware of what Kevin had meant by the ballad of lost souls. These things were far more dangerous then he ever would have thought possible.  
  
Kevin drew a card and he gained more life points. He grinned at the sight of whatever card it was that he had drawn, and then he swiftly slapped it onto his dark duel disk. The image wavered and then appeared in front of Dalin, revealing a twisted demon hugging the green pot from the card Pot of Greed. It looked around furtively and then hunkered over the pot. "I summon Demon of Greed(1400/900 to the field. And in this case, I don't think I'll block with a token." (KLP: 3350)  
  
Dalin was confused by this action and he watched Osiris assault the weaker monster, destroying it utterly. As soon as he saw the look on Kevin's face, he wished that the effect of Osiris was optional and not mandatory. "By destroying Demon of Greed you activated its effect, letting me draw four cards!" He quickly increased his hand size to a total of six cards, a full hand of cards that he could use to engineer Dalin's defeat. Whatever he did with them would be bad.  
  
"I play Arrival of Lost Souls. This card lets me discard monsters to summon lost souls. For each monster I discard I get three lost souls. So I discard four monsters from my hand to produce twelve more!" He shoved the four cards he had chosen into his cemetery slot, and Dalin watched as twelve more of the black spheres shimmered into view. They were so weak that it didn't even strain Kevin at all. Not that any summoning had in the whole duel. Counting the one summoned by Gate of the Dead, that made thirty lost souls total.  
  
"Lost Souls, take off and use the power of the Ferryman to destroy Dalin once and for all!" The souls put themselves into the ferry and once again made their way under the coils of Osiris. They assaulted Dalin with a power great enough to do forty-five hundred points of damage total. It would finish him off, and keeping a barrier up was taking more then he could manage. Slowly he turned himself so he could grip the spikes, using his physical strength to keep from being forced onto them.  
  
"I chain your assault with my two face down cards, Nutrient Z and Backlash of Life, which decreases your life points by five hundred when I gain life points!" According to the effect of Nutrient Z he would gain four thousand life points before the damage, and because of Backlash of Life Kevin would take five hundred. Thanks to Nutrient Z he would only effectively be taking five hundred points of damage, but that was still only a temporary safeguard. (DLP: 1463, KLP: 2850)  
  
"I set a single card face down and then end my turn." The card appeared in front of Kevin, emptying his hand completely of all cards. Yet that didn't matter, because with the cards he had, he was already practically guaranteed victory. Thirty untouchable monsters that could defend him at no cost to himself since Needs of the Many just sacrificed one to deflect any sort of attack. And with the defended Ferryman those thirty monsters could attack directly, and of course he gained more each turn.  
  
Dalin drew in a deep breath and then swiftly activated one of the cards he had drawn. It was a familiar card, and he needed its use. The power of Graceful Charity let him draw three more cards off his nearly gone deck and then he had to discard two cards from his hand. He quickly chose the cards he wanted to discard, and went on with his move. "When I have three monsters of the same name in my cemetery I can activate this card, Renewal of Triplets. It lets me special summon all three onto the field in attack mode!"  
  
As soon as he spoke these words three shining silver spheres appeared across from the army of black spheres. These were the Holy Shines Spheres(500/500 X3) each with just a little bit more attack power then the lost souls. They were still weak, but that wasn't what Dalin wanted them forth. Kevin grinned and motioned with his hands, gesturing towards his body. "Yes, give me the power! Bring forth the might of god!"  
  
Drawing heavily on the power of the crowd and his companions he sacrificed his three monsters and played the monster onto the field. Its power would come in handy, though he knew not how. Yet he felt that it was right to summon it. "I sacrifice the three spheres to summon Winged Divine Dragon of Ra(1500/1500)!" The light converged and he felt all the power flow into him to summon the large golden god, its bird-like form ready and willing to deal out death to infidels.  
  
"I place two cards onto the field, and now I will attack with both of my monsters!" The two gods opened their jaws wide and unleashed their respective attacks. One beam of gold and one beam of purple. The blasts streaked towards the Ferryman, and as close the attacks were getting no lost souls were moving in the way to take the attacks. He glanced up from Ferryman at Kevin, and saw the dark grin on his features.  
  
"Reveal trap, Flames of Hell! Upon activation it lets me place the field card Hell from my cemetery onto the field! So let's give a heartfelt welcome back to the field that will make this duel even worse for you yet again!" The earth shattered and flames shot up, stoking the intense fires of hatred and fear within them all. Its presence was weakening Dalin, and the demons were unaffected by it, so they couldn't offer anymore power to him.  
  
With Hell as the field the attacks of the gods collided against the Ferryman harmlessly, dealing no damage whatsoever. Hell prevented that battle damage, so therefore it was safe, and so were the tokens....but worse yet, they each gained eight hundred attack points making them eleven hundred attack strength strong. Dalin shuddered as he felt the despair creeping up on him. "End turn."  
  
Since Dalin had two level ten monsters on the field as soon as Kevin drew he gained a total of two thousand life points. It was just a little bit more power to Kevin, and he didn't even notice it. He just grinned and slipped his card into an activation slot. "I play The Black Hand, paying one thousand life points to draw five cards." He slipped the cards off of his deck and grinned in satisfaction. (KLP: 3850)  
  
"Now I play Bring on the Night which will completely conceal the field, hiding my moves from you unless I choose to announce them!" Dalin grimaced as a heavy fog seeped out of Kevin's newest card, swiftly blanketing the field in darkness. Now all he could see was his gods and his set cards, and then there was just a black cloud that prevented him from seeing past it. Whatever Kevin did it would be good for him.  
  
"Worried about Bring on the Night? Don't be, because now I play Mystical Space Typhoon to destroy it!" As quickly as the darkness had covered the field, it faded away as a bolt of lightning shot out from Kevin's own card and shattered the card that produced the darkness. Dalin couldn't understand what Kevin was up to, playing his card and then destroying it just as quickly. It simply made no sense.  
  
"Confused? I bet you are. Well I'll make it clear. When Bring on the Night is destroyed I can select one monster and special summon a number of tokens identical to that monster, and equal in number to however many there are. That includes effect as well. So since I already had thirty-one lost souls, I now get thirty-one more of them!" Dalin gulped as he saw the tokens replicate themselves, becoming a giant swarm of black spheres capable of dealing out death as Kevin saw fit. Things were becoming grim as an army was arrayed against him.  
  
"Also since Bring on the Night was destroyed I can destroy your two set cards. Now my sixty-two lost souls will attack you directly using the effect of the Ferryman!" There were simply too many tokens to fit into the ferry, so they just swarmed around it as it moved forwards. As they attacked Dalin knew that he had just one option left to him, an option he didn't want to use but would have to without his set cards to protect him.  
  
"I activate Sanctity of the Buried! By removing this magic card from the cemetery, a magic card you forced me to send to the grave, I can then remove five more cards from my graveyard in order to negate your attack!" He swiftly selected his five cards and watched as they were plucked from his hands and sent plunging into the flames below, consumed instantly. However it was worth it as the lost souls wailed helplessly against an invisible barrier that stopped their attacks with great ease.  
  
Kevin just shrugged it off, still confident that he could achieve victory. And he was right, for there were almost no cards left in Dalin's deck to keep him going. It was worse because he still had to draw two cards each draw phase, which was normally good but currently dangerous to him because it might deck him out. "I set one card face down, ending my turn. Next turn will be the moment of your absolute defeat! All the demons have seen it including me, seen you fallen, beaten and dead, your life points at zero! It's simply destiny!"  
  
Dalin grimaced, perfectly aware that he was running out of options and running out of a deck. He drew his two cards and glanced at them, he closed his eyes tightly, worried that this wouldn't work. Would he be able to stop Kevin after all, or was the other duelist right? Was it his destiny to lose? Well like his duel against Yami, there was only one way to find out. Forge onwards. "I place one card face down. That's all I can do."  
  
Kevin smirked wickedly, seeing that his opponent was perfectly out of options. His deck had dwindled to just about six or seven cards left, so the duel wouldn't last much longer even if Kevin didn't manage to kill him here and now. But with the cards he held in his hand, he was certain that he would be able to finish it here and now. "Draw card!"  
  
He grinned and placed the card onto the field, watching as a familiar purple skinned demon was summon to the field in attack mode. Osiris unleashed its attack, but because of Hell the demon was able to survive the attack, its stats reduced by two thousand to a measly seven hundred. "The might of Demon Soldier haunts you once again Dalin. But it will be worse this time, for I don't intend to attack with him." (KLP: 5850)  
  
He slipped on of the cards in his hand out and pushed it into its activation slot, activating it immediately. With this card things would get even more interesting, as would another card in his hand do the same thing. "I play Soul Sacrifice. I can offer up a monster to summon a number of lost souls equal to its base attack power divided by one hundred. So I offer up Demon Soldier to gain nineteen tokens!"  
  
The nineteen more that were produced were barely noticable amongst the already massive swarm of lost souls. They were so many of them that Dalin was certain he could have walked on top of them all the way to Kevin's platform. Total there were eight-two lost souls, a number that was far too great not to be worried about. "Let's make things more poetic shall we? A hundred little soldiers lined up in a row should do it. So I play Come All Ye Faithless, paying increments of one hundred to summon lost souls! And I give up eighteen hundred life points!" (KLP: 4050)  
  
More of them joined the swarm, more of them to make the killing crowd more poetic, just like Kevin wanted. There were now one hundred of the lost souls, their swarming created a song that rivaled that of the Choir of Hell and that of Lucifer. This was the Ballad of Lost Souls, which sang out for all those who had fallen and wished to move on. All those who wished to but couldn't. It was the song that sang out and gave the message, 'We will release you from your burden.'  
  
That was what they were to do to Dalin. They were going to release him from his burden. The burden of being expected to save the world. The burden of having an ancient demon spirit inside him, waiting to leave and devour his soul in the process. The burden of being a man with a purpose but no past. The burden of having to make decisions that cost other people their lives. They would give him release. "Now my Lost Souls, send Dalin to the great beyond! Fulfill his destiny! Relieve him of his burden!"  
  
They moved like a swarm of locusts, coming towards him like a black cloud. They swept straight past the two gods, coming right at him. They slammed into the barrier he put up, crushed that barrier as his power gave out and the supply of energy from outside sources dried out. They kept going, smashing apart the entire platform in their frenzied attacks, colliding with Dalin's flesh. The platform exploded as they swept completely past, and Dalin was hurled into the air.  
  
He felt bones shatter as he collided heavily with the ground. His breath left him and he vainly struggled to regain it, aware that he must have broken several of his ribs in the fall. He started to grasp the air around him, to let it fill his lungs. Suddenly a spinning object caught his eye, and he had only that one second to recognize its form before the spike drove directly into his chest. He did not survive. The lost souls had achieved their goal and released him of his burden. Only death could release someone from their burden. (DLP: 0)  
  
Kevin's laughter rang true as he felt Dalin's life fade away, watched as the last of Dalin's life points vanished. He gestured with his hand and banished the coliseum from his sight, allowing him to walk amongst the flames of Hell. The demons were now standing in a large crowd around him, trying to block him from getting to Dalin and getting what he wanted. They were nothing but moths to him, ants, lambs to the slaughter.  
  
He clenched his fists and allowed his power to roar around him. Black streaks of fire shot off from his body, consuming the demons as they charged him, trying to rend his flesh. He burned them where they stood, burned them as they charged, burned them all. They could not match his power, for they were merely worms against a god. He was death incarnate.  
  
Spikes erupted from the ground, spearing them and cutting their flesh to pieces. Slowly they backed away, preparing themself for the next charge. Kevin grinned wickedly as he let his senses stretch out, counting them all. There must have been a hundred thousand demons gathered to protect Dalin, to save themselves in truth. Yet they are all pathetically weak.  
  
"Is this what you wish? It would be better to simply embrace the truth. You will be destroyed one way or another, now or later. I suggest you save yourself the pain of being destroyed by me and simply allow yourself to be negated from existence by the power of the Essence of Destruction. Far more merciful." He spoke in the way that one speak to the vast ocean. The ocean would not answer, but it was felt nice to have spoken anyways, to have said what should be said.  
  
They did what any creatures discovering their mortality would have done. They charged forwards, surrounding him in a ring of flesh intent on crushing him, on ending his life and ending the threat to theirs. Like all mortal beings they rushed towards any opportunity to save their lives. They rushed into death, but they did it not from courage but from cowardice. He despised every last one of them.  
  
The first line of demons exploded. There was no other way to put it. Dark and craggy bodies burst apart in sprays of blood and flesh. Flows of dark power reached through that thick mist, darting from figure to figure in the blink of an eye, and the next rank of demons died. Then the next, and the next, as though they were running into an enormous meet grinder.  
  
Kevin's grin widened as they came on and on. Up above Serenity tilted her head to the side and emptied her stomach of whatever was in it, and Kevin simply laughed. Another rank died. Kirani closed her eyes, trying to turn her head away. But the smell was there. The bloody ruins of demonic creatures began to make a wall.  
  
No one could stand up to that. Between one blast of death and the next, the demons in front were suddenly struggling the other way, forcing themselves back into the mass fighting to get forward. The milling tangle itself began to explode, and then all of them were falling back. No, running. Drake shuddered in horror, unable to watch it any longer. Not even demons deserved this.  
  
"Don't run, don't run! We were just starting to enjoy ourselves!" Beneath the feet of the demons nearest to Kevin, the ground suddenly erupted in fountains of flame and dirt, hurling demons in every direction. While bodies still hung in the air, more gouts of flame roared from the ground, and more, in an expanding ring all the way around Kevin in a massive circle. It pursued the demons for fifty meters, a hundred, two hundred. There was nothing but panic and death out there now.  
  
The demons cast aside whatever weapons they had on them, crude or otherwise. The rings of death caused plumes of smoke to fill the dark sky above, rising up from the ranks of the dead. "Stop!" The roar of explosions swallowed the shout as well as it did demon's screams. Suddenly the voice came again, stronger then before. "Stop it now!" The voice crashed like thunder over everything.  
  
One more ring of eruptions, and Kevin let his power dim. The demons did not stop fleeing, they were more afraid now of the immediate death that they faced. For a moment a deafening silence seemed to fill the air, Kevin's ears rang. Then he could hear screams and moans. Wounded heaved among the piles of dead. And beyond them the demons ran, leaving the hateful thing of death behind them.  
  
With no demons in the way Kevin had a clear view of the speaker. He narrowed his eyes, unable to believe what he saw. It seemed he had been wrong. The defeated one had not died, merely been knocked unconscious for a moment. Dalin stood there about two hundred meters away, his right hand covering the wound on his chest which was leaking blood. His left arm with the duel disk hung limply at his side. "Just stop the killing. It's just too much."  
  
Kevin let out a roaring laughter and started to reach out with his power. He would shatter Dalin just as he had shattered the demons, it would be no different. Then he would take his power, take the power of Ammut. Then the release would come. He had won, and there was no stopping that. "Why even bother moving? You're just going to die anyways. It's over, and to be honest, even if you had won it wouldn't have changed anything. All those who have died would remain dead, the world would be practically lifeless."  
  
Dalin's eyes and features were lifeless, but still he kept walking towards Kevin. It was a determination that Kevin couldn't understand, he just couldn't see how Dalin was able to keep himself moving. What reason was there to bother? He had already lost. "Practically lifeless....is not the same....as lifeless. There....would still be....life." Still he walked on, even as he spoke these words. Kevin halted the flow of his power for a moment, surprised that his opponent was still coming. Why? It just didn't make any sense!  
  
Suddenly a voice shouted out, and he turned his gaze to see the speaker. It was Drake, who stood now about fifty meters behind him. He stood in front of the girls, his body nearly as limp as Dalin's. None of the three had any power left in them whatsoever. "This duel isn't over yet Kevin, or had you not noticed the card he placed down in the turn before yours?"  
  
Kevin's eyes widened and he looked around. Finally he spotted the where the dueling field had been, and his eyes widened at the sight of Dalin's card flipped up. He couldn't see what it was from here, but still it didn't make any sense. "But his life points dropped to zero! I saw it with my own eyes!"  
  
Dalin finally stopped about twenty feet away from him, his body close to collapsing. He propped himself against a discarded sword that was buried end first into the ground, using it to keep himself up. "The card....I placed....called Fated....Turn. Sets my....my....life points." He took a moment to breath, trying to gather himself together, trying to speak through the pain and weakness.  
  
"Life points....to....eight thousand. Second of my....turns....after activation....I lose." As soon as he finished speaking these words, Kevin couldn't help but laugh. This was the threat they hoped to pose? Two turns with eight thousand life points? It was absolutely ridiculous, but then again it was a truly desperate move. Worthy of cowardly humans, always trying to escape their destined ends. It was sickening to him how they held on like life had meaning. Disgusting. (DLP: 8000)  
  
"Very well, I set one card face down and end my turn. Let's see what you can accomplish." The card appeared in front of him, a long way away from all their other cards. His army of lost souls floated over to him, ready to attack on his command. These lost souls and his other cards were all that he needed, with them this duel would be over soon. After all, Dalin only had two turns to win....in a manner of speaking.  
  
Dalin struggling to lift his arm from his chest, and shakily drew two cards. He was laboring for breath just from that effort, and Kevin could feel his life slipping away with each and every moment. It was just disgusting to see him struggling so hard in the name of life. "I won't even allow you two turns. I activate Pyro Clock of Destiny! This speeds up the turn count by one, meaning that at the end of this turn, you lose!"  
  
The angel duelist forced himself to nod, acknowledging that he understand this. With painful effort he lifted his arm and slipped the card into one of his magic and trap zones. Since he had put it in face-up it was automatically activated, not requiring any effort to it. Of course he still had to use his power, and even the restored power he got from Fated Turn he barely managed. "Rise...From The Abyss."  
  
Kevin shrugged. He recognized the card. It required the player to discard their hand in order to summon up to twelve levels of monsters from their cemetery. Dalin couldn't possibly summon even one, how he was maintaining the gods that stood behind Kevin was a mystery in itself. "Summon....Obelisk." Kevin's eyes widened as his opponent spoke these words. Was he stupid? He couldn't manage to summon the third god while maintaining the other two!  
  
But despite Kevin's disbelief, the god slowly rose onto the field, joined by its companions. The three mighty Egyptian gods towered over Kevin, and yet he was not threatened. They couldn't get past his army of lost souls, not in one turn. It was absolutely impossible, especially since Dalin had no more cards to work with. "Discarded Repay....ment of....Losses. Draw one....card."  
  
Yet again the angel duelist struggled to draw a card, just one card was all he had to do and yet it was killing him. Kevin rolled his eyes, wanting to puke his guts out from this display. None of these things made sense to him, it all seemed perfectly pointless. One turn, one card, one chance. That was all there was, and yet still he struggled to make his move.  
  
Slowly Dalin brought the card up and slipped it into his duel disk, activating its effect. The card that materialized in front of Dalin displayed a series of Egyptian characters, which spelled out a name. Kevin blinked when he recognized what it said. "In His Name....together." Kevin shook his head in denial, unable to comprehend how it was possible. And yet it was happening. The three gods were being pulled together into a vortex of light, and something was coming out of it.  
  
The thing that rose from the point of light was a heavenly being. That was the best way to describe it. It was a figure of such intense light and beauty that Kevin hated it instantly. He wanted to destroy it completely, he wanted to blot it out of existence for all time. He had to, it sickened him! It all sickened him! With this creature's appearance Dalin seemed to regain a little bit of his vigor, as if its light was renewing him.  
  
"Creator of Light, Horakhti. To attack requires that I pay all but one of my life points, however its attack....like that of Exodia." Kevin shook his head in denial, refusing to believe that this was happening. Slowly the giant being of light turned its gaze on him, a gaze so full of purity that he wanted to vomit. Bile rose in his throat and he fought it back. Drawing on all of his power, all the powers of the dark and Hell itself, he reached out to attack.  
  
"Horakhti, Light of Purification. End it, please, just make it end." With these words spoken the angel duelist fell the ground face first, his blood pooling around him. Light exploded from the mere presence of Horakhti, and Kevin reacted violently with all the power within him. Millions of years of hatred and darkness all combined into one strike. Titanic waves of darkness and light crashed against each other, and the entire world was suddenly consumed.  
  
Ashes to ashes. Dust to dust. Earth back to Earth. Heaven back to Heaven. All things must return to the way they were. Yet nothing could possibly return to the way it was before there came Taichi, before there was Kevin, before there was this thing that took them both and stole the lives of so many for the purpose of ending its own suffering.  
  
Perhaps it was only proper that he who would use the power of the lost souls to do battle with would be the one to hear the last string of their fateful ballad. The Ballad of Lost Souls sang for Kevin Hunter, for the thing within him. The hateful creature that desired an end to its own life and all others had been granted that one special thing. Release from its burden, the burden of life.  
  
All life comes to an end. All things come to an end. People, history, countries, planets, stars, and most of all....stories. All stories must come to an end. It never feels right that stories end, and yet they must end. For with all endings come beginnings, and with the end of the story comes the start of another. One day even that hateful spirit would begin again, gain a second chance.  
  
For the moment the world was at peace. The world was dead, and that was a form of peace. That was as it should be. The story was over, so there was nothing left. But there would be another beginning, that was always something that could be counted on.  
  
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Author's Note: This is it. In case you hadn't guessed that was the end of my story. There will be an epilogue, but first I'd like to take this moment to thank everyone who has read this fic, even if they didn't review. Time Mage, G.O.T Nick, my two most avid supporters I thank you from the bottom of my heart. Zatken for those kind reviews even if they haven't reached this point yet. Vaurnut for his constant following, even if he didn't review I knew he was reading. GearfriedIronAngel read some of it on and off in his unusual manner, and I thank him for that. Edgar for his short but enthusiastic reviews. The Helldragon has reviewed a little and read a little, so I thank him as well. There are perhaps some that I've missed, people who have reviewed once or twice. Know that though I didn't mention you I still give my gracious thanks to you. Thanks all, this story is because of you and for you.  
  
Original Cards-Wow, that's a lot of original cards isn't it?  
  
Kevin: Thanatos, Gate of the Dead, Fall From Grace, Heart of a Demon, Expanding Shadows, Demon of Black Tokens, Twilight Renewal, Enhanced Production, Ferryman of the River Styx, Play Nice, Appearance of Lost Souls, Bloody Hand of Demon Prophets, The Laughing Dead, Needs of the Many, Vampiric Aura, Blood Sacrifice, Army of Darkness, Demon of Greed, Arrival of Lost Souls, Flames of Hell, The Black Hand, Bring on the Night, Soul Sacrifice, Come All Ye Faithless  
  
Dalin: Pain Slicer, Life Renewal, Heaven's Hand, Angel Renewal, Protection of Grace, Joyful Light of the Heavenly Realm, Hope of Renewal, Angelic Rage, Light Barrier, Joy of the Card, Veil of Light, Heaven's Wrath, Sacrifice the Light, Angel Glow, Holy Water, Backlash of Life, Renewal of Triplets, Fated Turn, Rise From The Abyss, Repayment of Losses, In His Name, Creator of Light-Horakhti  
  
Original Cards not by me  
  
Kevin: Satan-True Lord of Hell(Vaurnut), Lucifer-The Morning Star(Vaurnut), Hell(Vaurnut)  
  
Anime Original Cards  
  
Dalin: Sanctity of the Buried(used by Raphael) 


	39. Truth of Dreams

Disclaimer: I don't own Yugioh. Yep, last time I say this for a little while....probably.  
  
Author's Note: Well, this is it, the epilogue to my story. I hope you've all enjoyed everything you've read and hope you continue to read my work. Take note, Shadowed Light Of My Heart, the sequel, will be coming soon. Look for it!   
  
Epilogue: The Truth Of Dreams  
  
Have we lived a lie if we discover it was all a dream? Or is it simply a moment for us to look forward to something new when we awaken from the dream. Awakening from a dream was much the same as awakening at all when you should be dead. That was exactly what it felt like to Daisuke Ihachi. Because he knew he was dead.  
  
Despite his convictions at being dead he found himself waking up in a hospital bed, in just a simple white room and wearing one of those little smocks. For a second he imagined himself as the one in the coma, that it was never his certain. He dreamed it all. His whole life was a dream and he was just now waking up from it. That must be the truth.  
  
His sister wasn't real, he had just thought her up in a dream. Duel Monster wasn't real, he had just thought it up in a dream. All the people he had met, had known, had seen suffer and die....they were just figments of his imagination, patterns of thought created by the dreaming state. After all, nothing as horrible as what he had seen could possibly be true.   
  
Yes, he understood completely that none of it was true. He wondered idly what his life would be like now that he was awake from this dream, wondering idly why nobody had come in and been amazed that he was conscious. Perhaps he wasn't hooked up that well. That must be it, they were so used to him being in this state that he wasn't being monitored as heavily as he should.  
  
Slowly with the kind of casual slowness of one sluggish from years of sleep he started to move himself out of the way. He felt a twinge in his side and reached down to move the smock aside to see what the trouble was. Perhaps he was connected to some wiring or tubes for blood and food. Yeah, that must be it.  
  
As soon as he parted the smock he let it drop, staring blankly ahead for several seconds. Slowly he looked again, and then collapsed backwards against his pillow. Tears streamed down his face and he was chocking back sobs. Chris-crossing his chest and stomach were thin little scars, scars that might have been caused by tiny fragments of bone shooting out of a person's body. It was all true. It hadn't been a dream had it?  
  
He wasn't quite sure why he was crying. Perhaps it was a relief of pent up stress, maybe it was joy of being alive. Maybe he just wished it had all been a dream, that such terrible things hadn't been true. Because if they were, then he was one of the last few living people. Everyone he knew would be dead. He didn't know if he could live like that.  
  
What had been said? 2% wasn't it? Of six billion, 2% was....one hundred and twenty million. It was still a tidy sum, but it was spread out in pockets across the world. Why did he have to live if the world was going to be like this? He would rather have stayed dead, would rather it have all been a dream. Why couldn't it just be a dream?  
  
"DAMN! I hate it all! I wish it would end, damn why can't it just be over! Fucking kill me, just make it over! I don't want to live in this world, not anymore, not ever again!" He raged, tossing about. His body was weak, but he was still able to turn the bed over. He smashed the machine that was next to his bed, hurling the pole with its bags across the room. He screamed and shouted and broke things.  
  
He didn't notice the men dressed in white who entered the room, he could only feel their touch when they came to him. He struggled blinded against foes that shouldn't exist, as he shouldn't exist. He barely felt the needle that plunged into his arm. All he felt was the agony that came of being alive. He felt it all....and then there was nothing.  
  
A certain amount of time later, he couldn't tell how much, he awoke from his sleep once again. He gulped down the stale recycled air around him, aware just how real it was. Yet he felt that somehow the dreams were more real. Maybe he could just get them to do that again, and maybe he could sleep for good this time. That way it would always be a dream. The dreams were better.  
  
"Hey there, they said you were awake." Drake's eyes rose to a point across the room. A petite brunette girl had just walked in, a young girl with familiar eyes. It was Serenity. Behind her was the taller form of her elder brother, Joey. There were more familiar faces behind her, faces that shouldn't exist. Faces that shouldn't be there. He had seen so many of them die. Had that all been the dream? The death?  
  
"Was it....was all of it real....or was I just dreaming?" They all smiled politely, shuffling into the room until the crowded it. They approached his bed and someone took his head, he wasn't awake enough to know who. Then they started to explain things to him, to explain the truth of dreams to him.   
  
His injuries in his duel against Taichi had been nearly fatal. His heart beat had slowed so much that it was almost impossible to find, his brain nearly ceased functioning. Everyone had believed he was dead. As soon as they returned to the normal world he was found lying in a pool of his own blood, and he and the other injured were rushed to the hospital.   
  
Drake had been in the emergency ward recovering for a full week. Dalin's injuries had been internal, not fully as real thanks to where they had been. He was already up and on his feet, and had told them to pass a message to Drake when he woke up. Dalin had told him 'I've gotten your answer to that question now. Thanks.' Drake smiled at the thought of this.  
  
The deaths in the Shadow Realm....purely fictional. They had all been mental, deaths of the mind and not of the body or soul. It was simply the act of the soul being stripped away and contained in another place. He was assured several times that only those most involved, like those who had faced Ihachi, would actually remember anything of the Shadow Realm experience. So in a way, it really had been a dream.  
  
The deaths of the population of the world? Also fictional. The flashes they had seen were apparently the surges of energy caused by Ihachi as she snatched them up and pulled them to her realm. The trigger that Taichi had used failed because the satellites had default safeties that had long since been activated, safeties he hadn't known about. Only Kaiba Corp. had known.   
  
Kirani was back to her normal self, and she happily told him that there were no lasting effects of having her soul taken. Hinata assured him of the same thing, as did a few of the others. The question he had been dreading came to his mind, and he started to ask it. Yet he didn't need to. They knew what he would ask before he did.  
  
According to them when they had all returned from the Shadow Realm they had found the prone body of a fifteen year old dark haired boy. He seemed so peaceful, so innocent when they found him. Taichi Nobuki had slaughtered his mother with his bare hands, and such a thing scarred a person, even if you weren't the one who really did it. Even if somebody did it used your hands.  
  
Taichi had been suggested for custody with his uncle, but Taichi had been too afraid of that. He had told the police and the doctors that he knew he was insane, that the things he had seen and thought couldn't possibly be real. He had been committed and was now in a hospital for the mentally ill. He was getting help to recover from the scars inflicted by the dark spirit.  
  
Five days after he first woke up, Daisuke Ihachi decided to depart the country. It was simply a matter of chasing away bad memories, of starting off differently. He said his final goodbyes and headed to the airport where a plane would take him to America. He was going to join Kaiba there, he'd be in charge of running the attractions at Kaiba Land. It was a new start, and it payed well.  
  
At the airport he said his goodbye to everyone. They promised they would all talk, said that they would keep in touch. He gave those who wanted it the number to the cell phone that Kaiba was providing him. He hugged a few goodbye, and got a light parting kiss from both Serenity and Kirani, one on each cheek. He had smiled and waved at them as he headed onto the plane.   
  
While the plane flew over the last remnants of Domino City, flew off into the distance, he couldn't help but thinking about his past, and the future that was ahead of him. Though Domino City was behind him and so were the people there, he knew that those people, the city, and the things that had happened there would always be burned into his heart. A dream during waking hours, a dream of life during life.   
  
He looked down at the disappearing dot that was Domino City, and a smile crossed his features. He let out a contented smile, and turned to look forwards. That was how he should always look now, because forwards was the best direction to go. That was how humans were, always moving onwards. Despite what the dark spirit had thought, it wasn't from cowardice. Moving onwards is always the hardest and bravest thing a person can do. And yet.... "Somehow I know I'll be back. I'd miss the dream too much."   
  
Yes, that was his dream behind him. There was his dream ahead of him. Life was always a dream, and it took waking up from death to understand that. There was nothing more soothing then knowing that everything was just a dream, and yet it was still realm. The reality of knowing that you have awoken from the dream is what makes the dream real. This is the truth of dreams.  
  
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Final Author's Note: This is the completion of my story to its fullest. Once again I hope you all enjoyed it, and I hope it meant something to you in the way that meant something to me. I feel braving in saying, just as Drake has, that I will now move onwards, just like everyone eventually has to do. I thank the characters of my story for teaching me lessons that I couldn't have learned otherwise. This story made itself, the characters gave life to themselves, and I benifited more then the characters did. I gave them life, and they gave me a little life back. Thank you.  
  
Story Info  
  
Creation Date: 6/16/03  
  
Final Revision Date: 7/24/2003 1:30 A.M.  
  
Characters: 1,316,945  
  
Words: 293,116  
  
Sentences: 17,463  
  
Lines: 27,122  
  
Paragraphs: 3,416  
  
Pages: 498.33333  
  
Average Word Length: 4  
  
Average Words per Sentence: 17  
  
Maximum Words Per Sentence: 103(I have no idea how that's possible, maybe I forgot a period somewhere) 


End file.
